


The Shit Eren Does

by fluffykitty12



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, aot
Genre: Armin is a sniper, Culture, Don't screw with these kids- they will mess you up, Eren is a badass with a knife, Eren is confused, Erwin is glad everyone's alive, Gen, Levi is pissed, Mikasa can kill people with her bare hands, Near-starvation, Shiganshina Trio, The trio like never before, Tragic backstory abounds, awesomeness, badassery, cultural difference lead to hilarious shit, growing up shinganshina, shinganshina, skillz - Freeform, straight outta Shinganshina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-04-29 07:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 47,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5120612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffykitty12/pseuds/fluffykitty12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren was covered in blood and chicken feathers, and Levi wondered for a second if the boy had gone insane. "You said to make sure there was chicken for dinner, Sir." Eren said. "I meant to tell the cooking squad." Levi ground out. Eren looked at him sheepishly. "We did it differently in Shingasha." </p><p>Levi expected to take care of brats when he was promoted to Corporal. He did not, however, expect to have to deal with cultural differences, or the weird-ass traditions from three brats from a place called Shinganshina.</p><p>Shorts/one-shots concerning the antics of one incredibly determined titan-shifter, and everyone's favorite trio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Order

**Author's Note:**

> The survey Corps is made up of a bunch of different people from different villages, with different cultures and traditions. So I figured a culture-fic was due, where Eren misunderstands what appear to be straightforward orders. 
> 
> After the fall of Shingashina, he's been a kid without a home. Not to mention I just personally love imagining everyone trying to figure out all the weird traditions Eren follows. Please review and check out my other Attack on Titan Fic- (it involves Eren dancing!)! Please tell me if I should continue!

Eren was sitting in a chair in Captain Levi's office. He only trained when Levi was nearby, that way in case he was accidentally hurt and went titan, he could be controlled. He was allowed to be on his own when he slept, in the dungeon, and when he was with Hange, but otherwise he was to be within ten meters of Levi at all times. Which, most of the time, meant he was sitting in the man's office while he did paper work, trying not to twitch too much or annoy Levi.

Sometimes he got to staple papers, too, or make paperclip chains just so he wouldn't bother Levi, but most of the time he was just sitting, trying to do his best to remember he was a soldier and that soldiers sat still...

"Jager." Levi's voice startled him out of his revere, and he snapped to attention. "Sir!"

"At ease. I need you to do me a favor."

"Sir?"

"Captain Erwin is returning from the capital tonight after negotiations and a lengthy report. I want you to be certain there's chicken for dinner tonight, as it's his favorite. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir!" Eren grinned, excited to actually be doing something.

"Alright then." Levi went back to his paper work, and Eren bounded down the hallways of the castle, heart pounding- he had a mission.

* * *

 

Eren burst into the barracks, eyes alight. "Mikasa! I need your help!"

Mikasa looked up from the knife she was sharpening to see Eren pratically vibrating on his feet...

"What is it?"

"Captain Levi said they need chicken for dinner! We need to get Armin, too..." Eren was already about to bound outside the barracks, but Mikasa caught him by the wrist. "He wants you to make chicken for dinner? For everyone!?"

"Yes! That's why I need you help! We can do it, we've made chicken before, I just need your help..."

Mikasa stared, eyes wide.

"Please, Mikasa! He's the Captain and I can't let him down!"

Mikasa bit her lip. Making chicken for everyone in the mess hall by tonight seemed impossible- but Eren looked at her with those green eyes, and she couldn't refuse.

"Alright. I'll go get Armin. You ready the horses."

His face split into a grin. "Thanks, Mikasa."

"Just go. I can't believe Levi would order you to make dinner for the whole mess hall..."

"Don't think about that right now, Mikasa. Let's go!" and he was off, sprinting towards the stables to ready the horses.

* * *

 

Eren had saddled three brown mares- horses not fast enough to be used on missions, but not completely useless, either. He'd leave the faster horses incase they were needed for some sort of emergency- he knew these ones wouldn't be missed.

Armin stumbled into the stable after Mikasa, looking breathless and afraid. "Captain Levi wants you to make chicken for the entire survey corps!?"

"That's what he said. Now c'mon-" Eren fairly tossed his friend onto his horse. "Talk and ride, goshdangit. We're wasting time!"

As they forced their horses into a slow gallop on the path to the nearest village, Armin was struggling. "B-but- you're just one person! How can he expect you to make chicken for all those soldiers!?"

"I don't know!" Eren admitted over the pounding of hooves. "But I'm not alone! I have you guys- right!?"

"Right! But still, Eren, it'll be near impossible..."

"That's what you said the first time!" Eren said, flashing his friend a grin.

**_Five Years Ago..._ **

_"What's the matter, Armin?" Eren sat down beside his downcast looking friend, back against the building as they took shelter in an alley, Mikasa standing guard to make sure none of the older boys came to harass them._

_"N-nothing, I guess." Armin stuttered, not meeting his friend's eyes._

_"Armin..." Mikasa started, and Eren looked at his friend dubiously. Even he could tell his friend was lying..._

_"Grandpa's really sad and I don't know what to do! He hardly talks and he won't eat anything and I'm scared he's gonna die!" it all came bursting out of the petit blonde like a thundestorm, then, before he was clining to Eren, crying into the larger boy's chest._

_Eren just stared for a moment, shocked..._

_"It'll be okay, Armin..." he wrapped his arms around the boy, rubbing his back soothingly._

_"It won't be okay! I don't know what to do for him!" Armin pulled back, his face red with tears streaming down them. "H-he's going to die... and it'll b-be my f-fault, a-and I'll be a-all alone..." the boy choked out._

_Mikasa dropped to one knee beside the boys, placing her hand on Armin's forearm. "How long has he been like that?"_

_Armin's eyes seemed to bleed emotion. "S-since my mom and dad..."_

_Eren pulled the boy into a fierce hug without warning. "It'll be okay, Armin. I'll make it okay..."_

_"Maybe we can get him to eat something." Mikasa sounded thoughtful._

_Armin shook his head. "N-no... I've tried everything. He won't..."_

_"What about his favorite food? Maybe we could make that?" Eren suggested._

_Armin shook his head, wiping his eyes. "No, you can't. H-his favorite food is chicken, and the only one who knew how to make it was my mom..." he was trembling with emotion._

_"Didn't she keep her recipes somewhere? My mom keeps them on paper cards in a box..." Eren piped up._

_Armin sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I... yeah, actually, she did! She kept them in a little book..." his eyes looked hopeful for the first time._

_"Then let's go get it!" Eren grinned, jumping to his feet and grabbing Armin by the wrist. "C'mon!"_

_Armin actually laughed as he stumbled after Eren, with Mikasa following along..._

_Armin's house was dead silent. The three tip-toed upstairs- the livingroom door was open, and on the sofa sat Armin's grandpa, asleep. The man had dark circles under his eyes, his mouth was frowning, and he looked- broken._

_Armin looked down at him desperately, but Eren shoved him along- Armin's grandpa would be fine as long as they could make him some chicken._

_Armins lower lip trembled when they got to the bedroom that'd belonged to his parents, and his body began to shake. Eren realized he wouldn't want to go in._

_"I'll get the book, Armin. do- do you know where she kept it? What it looked like?"_

_Armin nodded. "I-it's small. About as big as your mom's hand, a-and it's red. S-she kept it somewhere on the b-bookshelf..." the smaller boy was biting his lip to keep from crying, and Mikasa wordlessly moved to the boy's side and took his hand, doing her best to comfort him so he didn't wake his grandpa downstairs._

_"Go. I'll stay with Armin."_

_Eren nodded, giving his friend one last concerned look before ducking inside._

_Things were covered in a thin layer of dust- three weeks could do that to an untouched room. Eren tried not to look around too much, steppng over a well-worn rug and grabbing a wooden chair beside the bed and dragging it over to a dusty bookshelf. His hands groped the top shelf, eyes barely over to see over it- but he jumped down a moment later, book in hand, triumphant._

_"I got it, Armin." He brushed some dust from his hair and handed an elated looking Armin the book. The boy hesitated for a breif second before he opened the book, flipping through the worn pages carefully._

_"There!" in the curly handwriting of Armin's mother was a recipie._

_Armin looked up, eyebrows wrinkled in thought, before he spoke- "Where will we get a chicken?"_

_"The market, silly." Mikasa looked at him like he was dumb._

_"B-but- we don't have any money."_

_"I do. Mikasa and I sold some extra firewood. Do you mind using the money to buy a chicken, Mikasa?" Eren asked._

_"Nope. Not at all."_

_Armin looked like he might burst into tears again. "You guys are the b-best friends I could ask for..."_

_"Quit crying and get a move on." Eren chuckled, slapping his friend on the back. "We gotta chicken to buy!"_

_The market vender was filled with squawking birds and peddles selling their wares._

_"Fish! Fresh fish!"_

_"Hot pastries! Good and warm!"_

_"Flowers! Get your flowers!"_

_They were nearly overwhelmed by the voices and adult customers- the smell of fresh fish on a hot day mingled with the sticky-sweet scent of fresh cut flowers and the smell of freshly baked bread._

_They eventually reached the stall for chicken- Eren pointed to a black hen, paying the man before leaving with it under his arm, holding hands with Mikasa while Armin's held Mikasa's hand on the opposite side._

_They retreated back to The small dead-end alley behind an old house in their neighborhood, one that bent in an L-shape to hide them from the street._

_"We gotta kill it somehow." Eren said, reading the recipie book carefully. "How do you kill it?"_

_Mikasa turned and ducked out of the street, coming back with something stashed beneath her dress. Eren saw it was one of mom's large cooking knives and nodded. "That'll work." he held the chicken's body while Armin stretched out the bird's neck with his hand, and in a swift move the bird was headless and flailing._

_"Hold onto it!" Eren yelled to Armin, desperate._

_"How is it still moving!? It doesn't have a head!" Armin sounded terrified._

_"I...just hold on!" Eren cried. Mikasa wordlessly kicked the flailing bird away- it hit the dead-end wall of the alley, blood and feathers spattering onto the stone wall and the dirt. The bird finally stopped flailing._

_"I'll read the book- you two are all dirty." Mikasa said. The boys looked down at themselves, surprised, to find they were covered in chicken blood and feathers. "Good idea." Eren admitted sheepishly._

_Mikasa frowned. "It says we have to pluck it."_

_"How do we do that?" Armin asked, blue eyes wide._

_"Eren- go get some firewood. I've seen Mom do this before." Mikasa said simply. Within half an hour they'd gotten a small fire going, and Armin had rigged up a stand to hang the pot full of water Mikasa had brought._

_The water started to boil, and Mikasa wordlessly tossed the chicken in. The water turned with red with blood._

_"Wait a few minutes and pull it out with a stick. The feathers will come out easy, then. I have to go mix the spices, like the says." Mikasa said simply, before she was gone._

_She came back to find the boys with a nearly-nude chicken, throwing handfuls of feathers at each other. She rolled her eyes before finishing the recipe, coating the chicken in spices and placing it in the covered pot over the fire._

_Eren and Armin looked over at her, interested._

_"Now- we wait." Mikasa said simply, sitting on the ground. Eren threw a handful of feathers at Armin, who shouted in joy and jumped on his friend in retaliation, before they were play-fighting in the dirt._

_By the time the fire had burned down, Eren and Armin were lying in the dirt, exhausted, and the chicken was done._

_"It's done, you idiots." Mikasa announced, handing the pot to Armin. "Go give it to your grandpa." Armin looked elated. "T-thanks guys!" "Just bring back the pot tomorrow before mom misses it, okay?"_

_"Sure thing Mikasa!" and Armin was gone, heading off home._

_Eren smiled, standing and trying to shake some dirt from his hair. "We did a good thing, Mikasa."_

_"Yeah. Armin would do the same for us. Grab the chicken head- mom can cook it tonight." Mikasa replied, and the two headed home._

_"Mom, we're home!" Eren bellowed as the door opened._

_His mother whirled to greet her children to find Mikasa holding her best kitchen knife and Eren covered in blood. Her face turned from warm to horrified, and she dropped to her knees, screaming and grabbing Eren. "Grisha! GRISHA!"_

_Eren's father rushed in from the next room over, looking horrified as his wife clung to his bloodied son, tears streaking down her face._

_"Where are you hurt, Eren!?" Eren saw a look of fear he'd never quite seen before on his father's face._

_Eren was confused. "Mikasa and I just killed a chicken, mom."_

_Carla's eyes fell on the feathers stuck to the boy's bloody clothes and she began to sob in relief, holding Eren close to her chest. Grisha rose back to his full height, looking stern._

_"Go get cleaned up. Both of you should know better than this- to scare your mother half to death! Clean up and go to your rooms!"_

_"Yes sir." Eren sighed, looking berated, before he trekked outside to find a bucket of water to wash up in, Mikasa trailing behind. As the door closed, Grisha could be heard trying to comfort his near-hysterical wife._

_Eren sighed. "How much trouble do you think we're in, Mikasa?"_

_"Lots. At least Armin's happy, though."_

_"Yeah, I guess you're right. At least Armin gets a happy day."_

_Tears streamed down at old man's face as he took a bite of the chicken._

_Armin looked up at him cautiously, hands folded behind his back, suddenly shy. "I-I really tried m best with it, Grandpa, honest! We used mom's recipe, we really did the best we could- I'm sorry if it tastes bad."_

_Armin was cut off mid-sentence when his Grandfather pulled him into his arms. "It- it tastes wonderful, son."_

_Armin's face lit up. "Really!? I'm glad, grandpa..."_

_The light seemed to be back in the old man's eyes as he hugged his grandson tighter to his chest, a few tears streaking from his eyes. "So am I, son. So am I." for the first time in weeks, he realized it- even though his son-in-law and daughter were dead, he still had a little something left to live for._

_**End flashback** _

"Remember? Back in Shinganshina, we did it. So what's to stop us from doing it now?"

Armin nodded hesitantly, before smiling slightly. "You know- I guess you're right. We've done it before- it can't be that hard. We can totally do it!"

"That's the spirit!" Eren grinned, and Mikasa smiled slightly and dug her heels into the side of her horse, smiling slightly. They probably could do it- it'd be just like old times.


	2. I meant just tell the damn cooking squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shinganshina trio continues on their adventure to procure poultry, while Levi idly wonders where the hell Jager is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eren's escapade continues! Please comment! :D

They'd reached the nearest village, and followed the lowing of animals and the calls of vendors to find the market.

They tied their horses before dismounting- some people gave them some looks, probably due to their military getup, but Eren ignored them, scoping out the stalls and nodding to a stand with nice looking red hens.

"Those look good. Nice feathers- plump. Like the kind Mom used to have us get..."

Mikasa nodded, and Eren turned to Armin, brows furrowed. "How many do you think we should get?"

Armin frowned for a second. "Well, let's see. How many people do we have at the castle? Seventy five, since fifty are out in the field training. Two to three people can eat one chicken, so... thirty chickens, I'd say. Just to be safe."

Eren nodded. "Seems sound to me." he strode over to the stall, smiling at the large woman manning the stall. "Can I have thirty chickens, please?"

The woman nearly fell off her stool, eyes wide with surprise, before she nodded eagerly, filling the wooden cages with the birds.

"We'll need to buy the cages, as well, to carry them home in." Eren slid the money across the table, and Mikasa came to help him with the cages. There were ten birds to a cage- stuffed in, squawking and agitated. They tied the cages onto the rumps of their horses before heading back for the Castle.

* * *

 

Levi waited fifteen minutes for Eren to return before he noted his absence. At first he wrote it off as a mild annoyance- the boy was probably taking his sweet time. He was quite irked when the boy hadn't come back within half an hour, and by forty five minutes, he was glancing up every minute or two, unable to focus on his paperwork.

Levi sighed- he shouldn't let Jager's irresponsibility get under his skin, and he pursed his lips tightly and forced himself to focus on his paperwork, resolving that every fifteen minutes the boy was gone would be one lap around the castle the boy had to give him, vowing not to chase after the boy like a worried mother. He was the boy's handler, after all, not some sort of nanny. Still- it took him a good half hour to get thoughts about his youngest soldier off his mind.

* * *

 

It took them three hours round-trip, meaning they arrived back at the castle at about three in the afternoon. Armin went to take care of the horses while Eren looked down at the cages full of chickens.

"Alright- so we'll need to butcher them..."

"I've got it." Mikasa said simply, drawing one of her blades. Eren grinned. "Great. Armin and I will hold them for you. From there we'll boil them so they can be plucked..."

"Hey guys! This could come in handy!" Armin stumbled out of the stable happily, toting a steel washtub behind him. "It's big enough so we can boil a few of them at a time!"

"Way to go, Armin!" Eren grinned. Armin wiped the sweat from his brow, and both boys moved to drag the tub behind the stables.

"We should kill them in batches of fifteen. We can work it like an assembly line-" Armin was already planning, and Eren nodded in agreement, before turning to Mikasa. "Mikasa- do you remember the spices?" he asked hopefully.

The corners of Mikasa's mouth twitched upwards slightly, and she nodded, disappearing inside.

She came back to find the boys had set up some firewood and rigged the wash tub over the fire pit that wasn't yet lit, propping it up with two buckets on either side underneath it.

"Are you sure about this, Eren?" Armin held his sword hesitantly while Eren held onto a squawling hen. Eren nodded. "C'mon, Armin. Just give it a slice already- lop the head off."

"B-but what if I miss?"

"My limbs regenerate, remember?"

Mikasa stalked over, snatching the chicken from Eren's hands. "Just because you can regenerate doesn't mean you get to be stupid." she admonished.

Eren looked annoyed. "Alright then- what do you suggest?"

Mikasa wordlessly held the chicken upside down, two feet in her one hand. With her free hand she sliced the head off- the headless bird thrashed in her hand, and some blood spattered onto her, but the bird was dead.

"Like that. Try not to damage the heads, either- we can cook them, too- I'm sure the other soldiers from Shinganshina would like the taste of something from home."

Eren nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

"Armin- you work with Eren, since he's only got half a brain." Mikasa ordered. Eren stuck out his tongue at her, and Mikasa simply rolled her eyes.

* * *

 

It was around five in the evening when Commander erwin strode into Levi's office, looking disturbed.

"Levi- have you seen Eren anywhere?"

Levi looked up from his paperwork, shaking his head. "No. I sent the boy to deliver a message- god knows he got distracted, and I have no idea where he is. He'll probably show up for dinner tonight."

"Levi- I found this is the stables." Erwn's grim tone hadn't changed. Levi looked up when a blood-stained green cloak was thrown onto his desk. Levi blanched, nearly all the color draining from his face. It was Eren's.

"Does the boy have any enemies, Levi? Any of his fellow soldiers been acting oddly about him lately?"

Levi was unable to answer for a brief moment, before he regained his a composure. "No. No one. Have you found anything else?"

"As of now, Eren's still missing."

Levi tried to ignore the guilt welling up in the pit of his stomach as his eyes fell on the bloodied cloak again. He should've gone looking for the boy- five hours was a long time to be gone, even for Eren, he should've done something, should've known- he was responsible for him, afterall.

"What about his friends? The blonde boy, and the girl who hates me?"

"They're missing, as well."

Levi's heart dropped. He grabbed his blades before standing, hurrying to help his commander locate the brat he'd misplaced while still fighting off guilt.

 _You'd better be alright, brat._ he thought. But still- there was so much blood on the cloak- could Eren even regenerate that fast?

_If you aren't fine then so help me I'll have Hanji nurse you back to health so I can personally beat you._

* * *

 

Killing chickens- no matter how good you were with a sword- was messy business. Killing thirty chickens was like a massacre- especially because once their hands got slippery enough from blood, they couldn't hold onto flailing, headless chickens as they thrashed, splattering more blood onto them. It was a vicious cycle. Eren's cloak had already been drenched pretty good in crimson, and so he'd taken it off and thrown it into the stable- he'd go in and get it, wash it in the lake, when he was done. There was no point wearing such a bloodied, sticky garment when he was going to get soaked in blood again several times over.

"Nearly done with the first butchering, Eren!" Armin announced as he strode over, two fat hens under each arm. Mikasa had lit the fire beneath the wash tub, and filled the boiling water with their first few carcasses.

"Cool." Eren grinned slightly, wiping a bloodied hand on his face. At this point- none of them really cared about cleanliness. Even Armin had some fairly large spatters of blood on him. It was nearly five, though- they still had two hours until dinner- they could totally have chicken made by then.

* * *

 

"He's not by the lake. Levi- you know the boy better than I do. Where else would he be?" Erwin asked, looking concerned. Levi said nothing as he and Erwin rode back from the lake. Eren hadn't been there.

"I don't know..." Levi looked up, surprised, so see smoke in the distance.

Erwin saw it, too, and the men exchanged glances.

"It's coming from the stables." Erwin said, voice serious. Levi said nothing, leaning forward on his horse and kicking it into a full gallop, having no idea what he was riding into.

Both Erwin and Levi pulled up short just outside the stables, dismounting.

The stables were not, in fact, on fire. On the contrary, the smoke came from behind the stables. Levi raced around the corner with Erwin beside him, not sure what he was about to see, only to come face to face with the unexpected.

Commander Erwin stared at the sight before him, eyes wide. Eren was covered in blood and chicken feathers, and Levi wondered for a moment if the boy had gone insane. Eren looked up, surprised, to see Levi.

"Jager- what the hell are you doing!?" Levi's eyes widened slightly. There was a small fire going, a washtub propped over it, and several headless chicken carcasses in the boiling water, like some sort of post-mortem hot tub. Nearby was a pile of decapitated chicken heads.

Armin was chasing frantically after a chicken who was running from him. The boy tripped and landed face first in the dirt, and there was a flash of metal as Mikasa cleanly decapitated a hen with her sword, not even giving the Captain a second look.

Eren looked confused at the look of rage on Levi's face. "You said to make sure there was chicken for dinner, Sir." he said, voice uncertain.

Levi was silent for one moment, two...

"I meant to tell the cooking squad to make chicken tonight." Levi managed, his fist clenched. The boy had been missing for five hours, they'd found his bloodied cloak- Levi had thought he was hurt or worse- but the idiot behind the stable, massacring chickens.

"Oh." Eren said quietly. Suddenly the ground was incredibly interesting to the boy, and he dug the toe of his boot into it, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment, before looking up at his superior sheepishly "We did it differently in Shinganshina, Sir."

"I can see that, Jager." he managed sharply.

Erwin stepped forward, intent on keeping the peace. "Alright- it was a miscommunication, no need to be upset. Let's just hand over the dead birds to the cooking squad for tonight and be done with it."

"I have no idea what the hell to do with these." Jean, who was in charge of the cooking squad for the evening, looked at the dead birds, shocked. "I mean- some of them still have feathers on them. We just buy the chicken breasts from the butcher..." Jean looked flabbergasted.

Erwin took a deep breath, struggling to stay patient. "So- you have no idea how to cook these?"

"No, Sir, I don't." Jean was still staring at the mess of dead birds, his expression a mix of disgust and awe.

"Alright- dismissed." Erwin sighed, and Jean stared at the blood-covered Eren for a brief moment before he was gone.

Erwin massaged his temples, eyes closed- he was going to have a headache soon. "So- what do we do with thirty dead chickens?"

Silence was his only answer.

"Jager." Levi snapped, stalking over to the boy. "You got yourself into this mess- you'll get yourself out of it. I expect dinner to be served on time, and I expect it to be palatable, do you understand me?"

"Yes Sir." Eren still looked slightly confused. Was the Captain ordering him to cook chicken? That was what he'd been trying to do this whole time- everyone's reaction here was quite confusing, honestly.

"Good. Dismissed." and Levi turned, stalking back into the castle with Erwin at his heels.

Mikasa tossed him a wet, recently boiled carcass, and Eren wordlessly started plucking the bird until it was featherless and clean, before setting it into a bucket with the other plucked birds.

Mikasa scowled after Captain Levi- he'd yelled at Eren for following orders. the man already irked her to no end, but getting mad at Eren when he hadn't been specific enough wouldn't do him any good. She resolved to make the best damn chicken there ever was- just to spite him.

* * *

 

At seven that evening, the normally buzzing dining hall was absolutely silent. Word of Eren's escapades had spread, courtesy of Jean, and everyone was expecting to be given some sort of freshly killed, half-cooked bird.

Erwin looked over at Levi- "You were pretty hard on the boy." he admitted quietly. "It was an honest mistake. Maybe you should go get him..." before Erwin could even finish, Eren had kicked open the dining hall door and stumbled in with a platter heaped high with chicken.

"Dinner is served!" he announced, green eyes shining as he set down a chicken on every table, helping distribute birds from Armin and Mikasa's platters, as well.

The dining hall was silent for a moment- the meat smelled good, covered in a mix of spices, and people cut into them carefully, finding the birds fully cooked. The first few bites were hesitant and tense, before someone jumped to their feet.

"This is _AMAZING!_ " Sasha's eyes were crazed, drool dripped from her mouth as she held a drumstick in hand, nearly tackling Eren in a hug. "You're a _food god!_ Why didn't you tell me you could cook like this!?"

Eren stared at her, surprised, and Mikasa moved to help him pull the blubbering girl off. Sasha dove back into her seat and starting to eat ravenously.

The dining hall sprung to life, then, and people started to converse happily, realizing the chicken was actually pretty good. Compared to their standard rations, it was very good- and they weren't ones to complain about a good thing.

Eren grinned triumphantly before sitting down to eat with his squad. "Dude- ware 'id you learn to cood like dis!?" he spoke around a mouthful of chicken, looking shocked. "Id's amazing!"

Eren gave his squadmate a sad smile. "Shinganshina. We used to eat it in Shinganshina." he admitted quietly, before lowering his eyes and eating gingerly. The table fell into respectful silence, then, realizing their three from Shinganshina would be drowning in memories at the familiar dish. Not to mention their mouths were too full to really talk.

As the meal neared its finish, Eren stood, swallowing, his green eyes serious. "Anyone who's from Shinganshina- meet me out front!" his voice resonated over the chatter, before he was striding out of the castle, Mikasa and Armin flanking him.

Approximately a dozen soldiers silently stood, eyes serious as they headed out front, before the rest of the dining hall followed after them, curious.

"We've got chicken necks!" Armin announced cheerfully, holding a bucket of decapitated chicken heads. To everyone's surprise, the air seemed to heat up with excitement. Feathers were plucked meticulously by hand off the heads, before they were placed on sticks and held over a crackling bonfire by anxious soldiers- really just kids who'd seen too much of the world's cruelty- eager to eat a home delicacy they thought they'd never again taste.

Some cried. Several wails of- "It tastes like home!" could be heard, as well as weeping. The air was excited yet serious as the soldiers who weren't from Shingshina felt for their comrades- now soldiers without a home village, thanks to the Titans.

Old songs bubbled up and wore on into the night, and someone managed to get ahold of a bottle of watered-down cider to pass around, and more chicken heads roasted deep brown before being devoured.

No one really had the heart to break up the impromptu gathering, either, though those who weren't from Shinganshina slowly retreated back inside as the didn't belong in the small group. It wasn't until the fire had burned down to nothing that the group of survivors headed inside, quietly ducking into the barracks.

Eren was about to head into the dungeon and get some rest when he met a dark-figure in the hallway. "Jager."

Eren, exhausted as he was, stopped dead when he heard Captain Levi's voice. "Sir?"

"Your cooking skills. Not bad."

Eren smiled slightly. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't think that excuses you running off for five hours to butcher chickens. Next time, just tell the damn cooking squad. Understand?"

Eren tried to repress his smile, "Yes Sir."

"Good. Now get your ass to bed- don't expect me to let you sleep later tomorrow."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Sir." Eren grinned, eyes shining with amusement.

Still, Eren swore he saw the flash of Levi's teeth in the darkness as the man smiled, and a mumbling of 'shitty brat', before his captain had brushed past him and was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and please comment- I absolutely love to see feedback and just your general thoughts on a chapter.


	3. Protective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes down and Eren is a little high-strung when it comes to people detaining Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit of angst and fluff, and it features TITAN!EREN, so please enjoy.

They'd known for some time the Military Police had it out for the Scouting Legion. The bureaucrats were afraid of their cold demeanor and the way they handled themselves- their mannerisms unnerved the military police. And now that they possessed a titan-shifting teenager and a group of cultists were screaming for his execution, it was only a matter of time before they made a move.

Said move, as it turned out, was to arrest Captain Levi.

It'd been done strategically, as well. Erwin had been called to the Capital, leaving Levi in charge with no one of higher stature to defend him. Less than two hours after Erwin's departure, three brigades of Military Police showed up at the castle bearing muskets, demanding Levi be turned over.

What no one had expected, however, was for Eren Jager to straight up refuse the request, standing in front of the Captain and his fellow soldiers who'd assembled in the yard, citing the constitution.

"The King's Charter clearly states you must have just cause to arrest anybody! What the fuck is your just cause!?" Eren shouted across the yard towards the military police.

"That's none of your concern, boy." Growled Commander Michael, head of the military police.

"Unfortunately, it is! Section 3 of the King's charter clearly states you must tell the accused of the crime they're being tried for. So go ahead- tell Captain Levi what he's been accused of!"

Eren was met with silence.

"If you don't have a just cause, then you can get the fuck out of here!" Eren screamed.

Levi just gaped at the boy- he hadn't expected Eren to even know the King's Charter, their constitution, existed, let alone be able to cite it.

"Jager-"

"Shut up! I'm trying to defend you here!" Eren snapped, eyes flaming. Levi stared, shocked, before Eren turned back to the Military Police.

"I don't have time to stand here and listen to your bullshit! So either produce just cause or get the fuck out!" Eren shouted.

"I could have you arrested for resisting the Military Police!" the commander shot back.

"And I could shove my sword up your ass, you ignorant piece of shit!" Eren fired right back, shaking his fist at them with every word.

Every musket in the damn place was trained on Eren, but the boy didn't seem to care. He stared them down like he was some sort of animal, fists clenched, teeth grit, ready for a fight. Some of the military officers were literally shaking in their boots- they'd recognized the titan shifter and wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

It was time to stop this before it went any further. "Eren, that's enough-" before Levi could say anything, the boom of a musket pierced the air. A moment later, Eren was writhing on the ground, drops of crimson absolutely surrounding him...

 _"Eren!"_ Mikasa screamed, trying to run towards him, but Armin held her back, blue eyes wide and terrified.

Levi simply stared for a moment, eyes wide and horrified, before yellow lightning split the air, a tremendous gust of wind knocking nearly everyone off their feet.

When the dust had settled and Levi had recovered himself, he found himself staring at Eren's Titan, who was roaring at the Military Police without reserve. The Police, who'd never even seen a damn titan before, were pissing themselves...

"Nobody move!" Levi shouted the order in a commanding voice that rang out loud enough to halt everyone in their tracks. The only sound was Eren's ragged breathing as he stood, massive, before everyone.

"We should shoot him!" one of the members of the police brigade piped up.

"Don't bother! He'll kill you all- just let me handle it, dammit!" Levi shouted. Before he could say anything else, a giant hand scooped him up.

Levi could feel the boy's hot breath on his skin as he was held directly in front of Eren's face. He could make out every one of the boy's teeth, and some of his brown hair fell over him, shielding him for a moment. What enthralled him most were the glowing green eyes- they seemed to penetrate to the depths of his soul.

Levi froze on instinct for a moment, expecting the boy to eat him. He couldn't reach his 3DMG, couldn't cut off yhe hand gripping him.... But Eren made no move to devour him. Instead, he just kept staring with those emerald eyes, scrutinizing his Captain, almost like he was... waiting for orders?

Eren grunted in frustration as Levi remained silent in his grasp, no giving him any instructions on how to proceed. The titan in him wanted to smash all the military police, but he knew he couldn't. He'd been hoping Levi would tell him what to do, but he was remaining silent. So Eren wordlessly turned, setting his Superior Officer on the roof of the castle where he was out of harm's way, before turning and landing on all fours, letting out a piercing roar in the face of the Military Police...

Some of them dropped to their knees, covering their ears, while others ran and still others pissed themselves. Levi cursed under his breath, engaging his 3DMG as jumping front the roof, managing to land on the titan's shoulder.

"Eren. Let's calm down, yeah?" Levi suggested, surprised Eren was maintaing eye contact and apparently understanding him.

Those glowing eyes fell on Levi again, but he man didn't wither under his intense gaze.

"Levi! Step away from the titan! I repeat, step away from the titan and give yourself up!" Somehow the commander of the Military Police was still standing, albeit looking terrified. Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Would you shut up for two damn seconds!?" he turned back to Eren.

"Lay down. I'm going to cut you out."

Eren growled low in his throat- he was still focused on the Military police. He turned and let out one more deafening roar towards them before complying, laying down on his stomach in the dirt...

Within three seconds Levi had cut him out, pulling a bloodied and exhausted looking Eren out and slinging the boy over his shoulder.

The titan body had started to steam, and Levi jumped down. He was slathered in titan blood, sword in one hand, the other holding Eren up, as he stared down the military police.

"As you can see, I'm the only one capable of keeping this idiot in line." Levi spat between grit teeth, jerking his blade towards Eren. "So I'm afraid you'll either have to come back later and speak to Commander Erwin, or he's going to have to come with me to your city while I stand trial."

The Commander of the Military Police had paled, looking intimidated, as the Titan Body had begun to decay behind Levi.

"I'm going to give you to the count of ten to leave before I let Eren do what he wants to with you." Eren couldn't stand on his own, let alone transform again, but the military police didn't need to know that. Without a word, the Commander of the Brigades turned, and they fled down the path, away from the castle.

Levi wordlessly changed his hold on Eren so he was carrying the boy bridal-style, looking at his pale face explantly.

"C-captain. I didn't mean to transform..."

"Save it. It wasn't your fault, for once." Levi admitted, turning and walking towards the castle. Eren would be out of commission for a day or two until he got his strength back.

"T-they're gone?" Eren asked, craning his neck to see around Levi and make certain the MPs had gone.

"Yes, they're gone. Now quit squirming-" Levi kicked open the door to the castle, as his hands were full with Eren, before starting up the stairs.

"Out of all the stupid things you've done, Jager, this has to top the list."

"I was just defending your constitutional rights, Captain." Eren rasped hoarsely.

Levi rolled his eyes. "You mouthed off to an entire brigade of military police is what you did..."

"Hey! I have a constitutional right to mouth off to the military police. I was helping you." Eren admitted. Levi kicked open the door to the infirmary, then, fairly tossing Jager onto a cot.

"You did a fine job of it." Levi's muttered sarcastically. "You got yourself shot- if it weren't for your titan blood you'd be dead."

"You said that wasn't my fault." Eren protested feebly. "Besides- it worked." he muttered the last part in a low voice.

"What worked?" Levi asked.

"N-nothing, Sir." Eren stuttered, eyes widening as he took on a deer in the headlights look.

"Jager, I swear to god..." Levi growled, about to make the boy tell him. But just then, Eren's eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out from exhaustion, and all Levi could do was start an IV in the hopes of getting him conscious sooner and throw himself into a chair, glowering at the unconscious boy the whole time.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if it'd been Eren's plan to go titan to keep the military police from taking him, or if he'd just been surprised by the bullet.

* * *

 

Erwin burst into the infirmary a scant three hours later, which was impressive in itself, considering the Capital was a good five hours from the castle. The man's brown eyes were frantic, his normally combed brown hair was wild, and his green cloak was askew.

Levi turned, surprised, and Erwin sagged against the doorway in relief at seeing both Humanity's Greatest Soldier and Humanity's Hope were still alive, albeit indisposed.

"I was given word of an incident. And I met the brigades of Military Police on my way here... They looked as though they'd seen death itself." Erwin managed, sinking into a chair opposite Levi.

The man cocked an eyebrow at Erwin's description, before shrugging. "Well- you're not wrong."

Erwin looked distressed at the news, and Levi sighed, continuing. "After you left, three Brigades of Military Police arrived to arrest me."

"Did they want Eren?" Erwin looked concerned again. He'd known for a long time that many people had wanted the boy dead...

Levi rolled his eyes, wondering if his commander had heard anything he'd jsut said. "No. They wanted me."

Erwin nodded, absorbing the information.

"Then this idiot stood up in front of everyone and started screaming about the constitution and how they couldn't take me without a warrant. They had every fucking musket on him and he didn't back down..." Levi scoffed, dark eyes flickering over to Eren's unmoving form on the bed for a moment before he continued speaking.

"He wouldn't back down. I tried to talk him down, but of course, the little shit didn't listen..."

"And he went titan?" Erwin asked.

"No. One of the bumbling MP's shot him. Then he went titan." a brief flicker of guilt crossed Levi's features, but it was gone within the blink of an eye. If Erwin hadn't known Levi so well, he'd have missed it. Levi's brows furrowed, as well. "He didn't bite himself, either. He was just writhing around on the ground, bleeding, before there was lightening and a rush of air and he was a titan."

"So he didn't willingly transform?"

Levi shook his head. "I don't think so, no. His face- his eyes were blank, he was startled- they shot him in the vitals. I think it was some sort of survival reflex..."

Erwin nodded, looking pensive, and Levi continued.

"He didn't kill anyone. He picked me up- My arms were at my sides, I couldn't reach my blades- I thought he was going to eat me. But he just stared at me, like he was waiting for orders..."

"Was he trying to communicate?"

"I don't know. I was just- surprised. He set me on top of the castle before he started roaring- he was trying to scare them off."

"And the MP's took it as an act of aggression?"

Levi shrugged, arms crossed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "I don't fucking know. They were pissing themselves by this point, some were running, some were screaming- I managed to get by his ear with m 3DMG and ordered him to lay down so I could cut him out."

"And he listened to your commands?"

"Yes. After he was done roaring at them, he did."

"And?"

"I told the military police to fuck off and dragged his ass inside." Levi finished eloquently.

Erwin nodded, looking pensive. "This just leaves us with more questions." he admitted finally.

Levi nodded. "I, too, want to know why the hell Jager is so fucking stupid."

Erwin looked at Levi as though confused. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"After the fall of Shingashina- the boats were leaving, people were dying in the streets. People ended up jumping into the canal and trying to swim through behind the boats before the gate closed. Nearly everyone drowned- all the people on the boats could do was listen to the cries for help. People from Shingashina are incredibly possessive, Levi. They don't stray far from their comrades and they stay together as much as possible."

"That explains why he's always with his friends." Levi muttered, looking over at the unconscious boy again. He'd always thought Eren was just very clingy- he'd never thought it could be because of what the boy had seen when he was a kid...

"After the fall of Shingashina, they made a proverb. "Better dead with your friends than alive without them. They don't leave anyone behind, Levi." Erwin looked at the boy carefully.

Levi simply nodded. "So- he's not just clingy?"

"Clingy? More like mentally scarred. The same for that girl he's always with- she never leaves him alone, like she's afraid he'll disappear. They'd rather die than be separated from the people they consider family."

"I'm not his family."

"Clearly that's not what he thinks." Erwin supplied quietly.

"I made him clear the barn six times. He spit-shines his boots three times daily, and I beat the shit out of him in a courtroom. I highly doubt he thinks I'm family."

"His actions contradict your thoughts."

"I'm not his family. I'm his handler." Levi growled.

There was a whimper from the bed, and Levi's head whipped around to make sure Eren wasn't awake or in pain. The flicker of concern on his face contradicted everything he'd just said.

Erwin simply smirked and stood, leaving. Whether Levi liked it or not- Eren had accepted the Captain, however short and irritable he could be, into his pack.

People from Shingashina had lost so much after the Titan attack- they'd resolved not to lose that much ever again. They didn't let anyone take away their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I'd love to hear opinions on this!


	4. Sex Ed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi makes a discovery about the males of the 104th. No sex, just incredibly clueless boys and incredibly embarrassed adults.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sex ed chapter! Sorry the updates are slow- I've been having to deal with a lot of school work lately.
> 
> Anyways- they find out some Cadets of the 104th are missing crucial information from basic training, and awkwardness ensues. I left out Reiner and Bertholdt because I think they've probably learned all this shit anyways. Plus- I like it better with our four favorites! Please review!

It was supply day. Once a month, every soldier was given their personal care items for the month. Everyone received a small bag with a bar of soap, some razors for shaving, a small tube of toothpaste, and a stick of deodorant. The girls received some feminine hygiene products in theirs, as well, while the boys-

"What the hell is this?" Eren asked, looking at the small foil-wrapped square in his kit in confusion.

"Maybe it's some sort of training device?" Armin suggested. The boys of the 104th had gathered around to puzzle out what exactly they'd received.

Eren wordlessly tore open the package, finding a small rubber circle...

"Is it a balloon? It looks like a balloon. Let's make water balloons!" Connie shouted enthusiastically, while Jean looked over at the rubber Jager had pulled out in confusion.

"It might be a balloon, actually- it's stretchy." Eren pulled on the device, testing it...

"It looks like a shower cap." Armin admitted.

That being said, Eren stretched it out and put it on his head, allowing the rubber to rest just above his eyebrows.

"Oi! What the hell are you brats doing over there!?" Levi rounded the corner, pissed to see his soldiers gathered around like old women at a church social instead of doing something.

The boys looked up, surprised, and Levi stopped dead when he saw the condom on Eren's head.

"Jager. Quit joking around and take that shit off your head."

Eren frowned, not looking nearly as embarrassed as he should've been. "But Sir- aren't shower caps supposed to be worn on the head?"

Levi stared at the kid for a moment, gauging his expression. By the look of sincerity on the group's face, he realized they weren't joking.

"That's not a shower cap, Jager. It's a condom."

The group stared at him in confusion.

"What's a condom, Sir?" Armin piped up, ever-inquisitive.

Levi took a step back, looking horrified. They seriously didn't know what a condom was? But if they didn't know about condoms, then they must've been absolutely clueless about sex... "You were supposed to have learned this in basic training, godammit!" he growled, irritated.

The boys looked over at him, still clueless. Just then, Commander Erwin rounded the corner. The man stopped dead, seeing a frustrated looking Levi, a confused looking group of cadets, and Eren Jager with a condom on his head. Against his better judgement, he strode towards the group, frowning.

"What's going on here?"

"We got balloons in our supply kits, Sir!" Connie said excitedly, holding up his own condom, which was still in the foil package, excitedly.

Erwin's frown deepened, if that were possible. But he was still distracted by the fact Jager had a condom on his head. "Eren- take that off your head."

"Yes Sir." Eren wordlessly yanked the condom off his head- the rubbed made a snapping sound, and he stuck it in his pocket, planning to wear his shower cap later that night.

Erwin turned to Levi, then. "What's going on?"

"They don't know what condoms are." Levi muttered dryly.

"They were supposed to have learned that in basic training..." Erwin said, looking concerned.

"You mean the class with all the diagrams Commander Shadis was going to show us?" Jean spoke up, remembering.

Erwin nodded. "You all attended that, right?"

The boys stared at their shoes for a moment.

"Why, pray tell, didn't you attend?" Levi growled through clenched teeth.

"The older cadets told us it was really embarrassing, so we kinda started a small fire and got the classroom evacuated and missed it." Connie piped up innocently.

Eren grinned slightly as he stared down at his boots, while Armin looked the other direction and the other boys refused to meet their commander's eyes.

Levi clenched his fists- he wasn't sure whether to be angry about their negligence or impressed with their resourcefulness. He was leaning towards anger, becuse now he had an entire squad of clueless brats who needed to be educated on sex...

Erwin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Boys- until tomorrow- I want you to refrain from all sexual activity. Understood?"

"What's sex?" Connie whispered loudly, looking over at Armin desperately.

"Keep your pants on until tomorrow. All of you." Levi deadpanned, before repressing the urge to smirk. "Have fun with them, Commander." and he was gone, striding briskly away. There was no way he was getting stuck teaching these brats sex ed.

Erwin looked after Levi desperately before sighing. "Meet me tomorrow evening in the classroom at seven pm. Until then- don't interact with any girls." and the Commander was gone, wondering how the hell he was supposed to teach the 104th boys about sex.

* * *

 

"Don't come any closer!" Eren fairly shouted when Mikasa tried to sit with them at dinner.

Mikasa, as well as the entire dining hall, fell silent.

"Yeah! Commander Erwin said we can't interact with any females until tomorrow! Do you wanna get us in trouble or something!?" Connie blurted out, looking alarmed.

"That's ridiculous! Why wouldn't he want us to sit with you?" Christa asked, good-natured as always.

"SEX!" Armin slammed both palms on the table, face red. "He's afraid of sex and so we can't talk to any girls, okay!?" Armin had sweat running down his face.

"I'm out- I'm not getting in trouble if the Commander comes in here and sees us with them." Jean spoke up, looking around nervously. "I'll just eat in the barracks."

"Me too." Connie followed at his heels, with a desperate looking Armin trotting off after them.

"Remember to keep your pants on!" Eren yelled after them frantically, hoping they didn't forget orders.

Eren stood, looking flustered. "I-I have to go..." he looked pale and shaky.

"Eren- what the hell is going on?" Mikasa reached out to grab his arm.

Eren screamed and yanked his arm away, looking horrified. He had no idea what sex was, but what if touching was sex? That meant Mikasa had had sex with him, the Commander would be so angry...

Eren turned to run out of the room, managing to run into the wall on the way out and give himself a bloody nose before he was stumbling down the hallway towards his room in the dungeon, praying he didn't run into any females on the way.

Ymir snorted, sitting down and digging into the meals the boys had abandoned. "Well, that was fucking stupid."

Mikasa just stared after the boys, concerned. She wondered what the hell was wrong with them.

* * *

 

Erwin looked up at the four boys he'd gotten into the classroom, clearing his throat.

"Levi informed me you four didn't attend training today."

Jean snorted. "Of course not. There were girls there."

Erwin cocked a blonde eyebrow. "And that matters why?"

"You told us not to interact with any females, Sir." Armin spoke up earnestly.

Erwin frowned. "I meant sexually."

"What even IS sex!?" Connie threw his hands up in the air, looking frustrated.

Eren raised his hand. "Is it when somebody touches you? Because if it is, then Mikasa and I had sex last night."

Erwin blinked for a moment, looking uncomfortable. "Well, Eren, it depends on where she touched you..."

"She touched me in the dining hall."

"She what?"

"She touched his arm in the dining hall, Sir." Armin spoke up.

Erwin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, Eren, that is not sex."

The boys all stared at him, unblinking. Erwin took a moment to collect himself. He could do this.

"When a man and a woman love each other very much, the man puts his penis into the woman's vagina..."

"You mean her butt, right?" Connie spoke up again.

"No. A woman has 3 openings...ahem... the urethra, for passing urine, the vagina, for a man;s sex and how babies are delivered, and the anus, for solid wastes..." This was far, far more awkward than Erwin had imagined it could be.

Eren frowned. "Wait- are you talking about intercourse?"

Erwin nodded. "Yes, Eren, sex is also called intercourse..." he was relieved at least one of the kids was with him.

Eren's eyes lit up. "Oh. So you're referring to the genitals?"

Erwin nodded, surprised the boy could put it in such a sophisticated way.

"Where the hell did you learn that word, Jager?" Jean scoffed, squinting at the boy.

"My Dad was a doctor. He taught me the science and stuff." Eren didn't seem phased.

Erwin nodded, suddenly getting an idea.

"Mind sharing what you know, Eren?"

Eren shrugged, looking bored.. "When a guy likes a girl, he gets a rush of blood and an erection, they undress, he sticks it into her vagina, if he ejaculates they have a kid nine months later. It's not that big a deal, really. I thought sex was when you put it up the butt and that it hurt a lot and there was screaming..."

"No, no screaming or anal penetration." Erwin stated hurriedly. "So- um- any questions so far?"

Connie raised his hand.

"Connie?"

"Why can't we put it up the butt, Sir?"

Erwin flushed. "I- you could, I suppose, if your partner wanted it..."

"What the hell does this have to do with condoms?" Jeans asked.

This was one part of the lecture Erwin was prepared to give. He wordlessly pulled a banana from his pocket, as well as a condom. "Well you see, to prevent the ejaculate from impregnating the female, you sheath your penis in the condom to contain the sperm..." Erwin fumbled for a moment, before flawlessly applying the condom to the banana.

Connie frowned. "How are you supposed to eat the banana now, Sir?"

"You're not. It's a demonstration on how to put on a condom." Erwin stated, quite proud of himself.

The boys nodded, before Armin timidly raised his hand.

"Yes, Armin?"

"What's oral sex?"

Erwin was too shocked to say anything for a moment, but luckily Eren jumped in to help him. "It's where you suck on it, Armin."

"O-oh." Armin nodded timidly. "Can it happen for both girls and guys?"

Eren nodded again. "There's this legend I heard about a things called a clitoris- if you lick it, girls absolutely love it. But I think it's just a myth..."

"I heard about that too." Jean muttered.

Erwin wasn't even going to touch that subject, so instead he called on Connie, who had a serious look on his face and his hand raised. "Yes, Connie?"

"How do you eat an ass, sir?"

"I... well, it involves tonguing the anus, Connie..."

"Do you have to eat the shit in there?" Eren asked, serious as well. "Do girls like that? Or can you just pretend to and spit it out?"

"That's a personal preference, Jager..." Goddamn, Erwin was going to have a long, long night of drinking immediately after this.

"What the hell is a masturbation?" Jean asked, thumbing through an old textbook.

"It means jerking off." Eren told him calmly.

"How are we supposed to jerk off in the barracks without everybody hearing us? Especially Reiner- his bunk is right above mine, and I can hear him going at it every night..." Connie piped up.

"Alright, enough questions!" Erwin burst out. "You have to use condoms when you have sex so nobody gets pregnant, end of story! Dismissed!"

The boys spoke quietly to themselves as they left, and Erwin rested his head in his hands for several long minutes before summoning n up the willpower to drag himself back to his room and take a long slug of scotch, before falling into bed. In the morning, he'd write a correspondence to Shadis and make certain every Cadet he received was thoroughly briefed in sex ed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think! I eagerly await your comments! :D


	5. The Kitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes a friend in an unexpected place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- I wanted Eren to get into a bit of mischief here while being a cinnamon roll and I think I've done it. Please comment- you guys motivate me! :)

It was a rare day out of the castle for the Survey Corps- The purchasing of supplies- namely, food, was happening, and so they found themselves in town.

Eren took the opportunity to enjoy the bustle of everything around him. Though they were heading mostly to warehouse to load up on staples such as flour, sugar, and rice, they'd passed through the market district, and the smell of freshly cooked pastries reminded him of home slightly.

Eren was mostly supposed to stick close to Captain Levi- but he couldn't help it. The Captain had left him standing outside the rows and rows of warehouses, simply waiting fr him to complete his negotiations with the manager. H was bored. Until he heard a sound.

It was hoarse and pitiful, but it caught his attention, and he quit digging the toe of his boot into the dirt, instead looking around in search of the source of the noise...

It was a scrawny kitten. Barely as big as Eren's hand, it was covered in filth, with one eye crusted shut. The tiny thing mewled up at the teenager again, before it was gingerly padding over towards him, skinny body weaving around his legs as he rubbed up against him.

Against his better judgement, Eren bent down to pick the small animal up. It squirmed slightly in his grasp, before seeming to adjust and letting out a harsh sounding purr, off-tune enough that it sounded akin to a broken freight train but enthusiastic enough that he realized the cat was happy with him.

"How the hell does something as small as you survive out here?" he muttered idly, absently scratching the kitten's ears, which were shredded a bit.

A moment later a larger cat was ducking out of the alley, hissing when he saw Eren holding the kitten before trotting away. Eren noticed some dried blood crusted on the kitten's fur and realized- it was barely surviving out here. He could feel its ribs and spine as he held it, not to mention it's eye and the general state it was in...

The kitten was _barely_ surviving. It made him feel bad- guilty, almost.

That being said, Captain Levi would flip his shit if he tried to bring the kitten back, since didn't the Corporal consider all animals filthy?

Still- he couldn't just leave it here. Which meant the only logical course of action was to zip up his brown leather jacket and tuck the kitten inside, where it'd be hidden.

No sooner had he completed the task of shoving the little bundle into his coat than Captain Levi rounded the corner, nodding to him. "Oi. We're ready to move out. Get in the wagon- the men will load us up with supplise around back."

Eren nodded wordlessly, doing as he was told.

Levi frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. "What's with your jacket?"

Eren managed to keep the alarm he was feeling from flashing in his eyes as he shrugged. Of course the Corporal would notice his jacket was zipped- he hardly ever zipped it up. But he could lie make up a decent excuse...

"I'm cold." he deadpanned.

"It's eighty degrees outside."

"Well I'm absolutely freezing." there was nothing he could do now except keep up the act and pray.

Levi fell silent as he drove the wagon, allowing the stupid brat to do as he wanted.

The ride back was tense, as Eren felt the little sweaty ball of fur moving slightly within his coat and tried to keep the fact that he was sweltering in his coat from Levi. He thought for sure he was found out when, as they thundered down the path towards the Castle, the kitten took an unexpected swipe at his chest, claws digging in.

He jolted forward, hand flying to his chest, eyes watering, biting back a hiss of pain. In a split second he saw Levi was staring at him and he forced himself to sputter and cough.

"Jager. What the hell's wrong with you?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-nothing. J-just swallowed a bug..." Eren choked out between coughs. He could've sworn he saw the Corporal's mouth twitch in slight amusement at the fact, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

They couldn't have arrived back soon enough. As soon as he had a free moment, he was darting inside, down to his quarters in the dungeon, peeling off his sweat-soaked jacket and pulling the sweaty ball of fur from it's hiding place.

"You almost got us both blown in, your little shit..." he mumbled. The kitten simply stared at him with sad eyes, and Eren had to sigh. He filled the bucket he normally used for washing up with water from the sink, taking the grubby little ball of fur and dunking him into it, taking special care to keep it's head above water...

The kitten let out a yowl like it was being murdered, and Eren's hands were on fire as it began to claw at him.

"Ow-what the fuck!?" Eren yanked his hands from the water, shocked, as the kitten pawed frantically at the rim of the bucket, trying to get out, before slipping beneath the water...

"Shit!" Eren plunged his hand into the bucket, grabbing the kitten and pulling it out. The tiny thing coughed and sneezed before squirming out of Eren's grasp, shaking itself off and plodding over to the corner, beginning to meticulously lick itself.

Which left Eren nursing his scratched and bloodied hands, surprised.

"Well that's a great way to repay somebody who saved you from the streets." he growled. The kitten ignored him. Still, it was mostly clean, and Eren could at least make out what color it's fur was. It was a small tuxedo cat, with a white underbelly and bits of white on his face. It's head, for the most part, was black of the upper half of the face and head, with anything below the nose, including it's chin, being white, save for the small spattering of black, almost like a half hitler mustache, beneath it's nose...

The kitten just kept licking, completely ignoring Eren. Eren frowned slightly, begining to dry his bloodied hands.

"You know- you act a lot like... Captain Levi."

The cat looked up at the name, orange eyes shining. That was too much of a coincidence, and Eren stared. "Captain Levi?" he repeated hesitantly. "You like that name?"

The kitten held his gaze.

Eren smirked slightly, reaching out gingerly to rub the kitten's ears. "I guess that's what I'll call you, then. Welcome home, Captain Levi."

* * *

 

"Jager. What happened to your hands?" the entire dining room fell silent at Captain Levi's question.

Eren took a half-second before looking up from his food, making sure he could school his expression into that of an innocent.

"Sir?"

"Your hands, Jager. What happened to them?" Levi asked, more briskly this time.

"I-uh... They got caught, Sir."

"Caught in what?"

"My 3DMG cables..." it was plausible, really. If someone got tangled up in their cables, they often cut their hands. Though it'd stopped happening to most people since they left training camp, it could still happen...

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "How, pray tell, did that happen?"

"Well, um, I... you see Sir... I was-" he spent a good thirty seconds fumbling over his words, trying to think of a good story.

"What, Jager? You were _what?_ " Levi snapped, patience running thin.

So, in typical fashion, a flustered Eren spit out the first thing that came to mind. "I was pretending to be a spider!"

The entire dining hall was dead silent, as Levi's brows furrowed. "You were... _pretending to be a spider_?"

Eren nodded. He couldn't contain the blush at the stupidness of his response, but his peers seemed to think it was because he was embarrassed to admit he still played pretend, and Levi was clearly wanting more of an explanation, so he continued.

"I was out in the forest- I was pretending to make a web out of my 3DMG cables, and my anchor failed, the cabling wrapped around my hands and I got... caught..."

Levi nodded- for once, he didn't have anything to say about Jager's stupidity, as he was so surprised by the extent of it.

"Who the fuck pretends to be a spider?" Jean asked, and the entire dining hall burst into laughter. Eren, still blushing like a maniac, wordlessly stood and fled the dining hall, heading down to the dungeon. He was never going to live this down.

Still, once he got there he found a small bundle of fur curled up on his bed. He sighed, kicking the wall in frustration.

"You stupid freaking cat." he sighed, throwing up his hands in frustration. "You just HAD to scratch me and so I had to lie to cover up your existence and now I look like an idiot..."

Glowing orange eyes blinked up at him, and the cat offered up an apologetic mewl. Eren wordlessly sat on the bed, absently stroking the kitten. "Yeah, well sorry doesn't cut it, Captain Levi." he muttered dejectedly at the kitten named after his superior.

The kitten seemed to ignore him entirely, instead marching onto Eren's lap and settling down like he owned it- Eren's lap belonged to the kitten, and Eren was simply a person to provide said lap for the cat...

"Shitty entitled Captain Levi." Eren muttered, slightly frustrated. The kitten in his lap started to purr, then, and Eren couldn't help but feel his mouth twitch into a smile.

That was the start of a beautiful, often one-sided, painful relationship for Eren. But for Captain Levi the cat- things were looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I live for you guys and your opinions on my fics!


	6. Meet Cat-ptain Levi (See what I did there?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Levi the Cat meets Captain Levi the soldier- and Eren Jager makes it even crazier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, it's short, but I managed to write it. I have a ton of ideas for this fic- I just need time to sort through them and order them appropriately, so fear not!

It was nearly two weeks before Captain Levi the cat finally ventured out of Eren's dungeon. Unfortunately, the first time the kitten did, it siddled into the dining hall during the middle of breakfast. Right in front of Captain Levi.

The dining hall fell dead silent, and everyone stared at the small ball of fur for a moment. Eren had been making his way over to his table, tray in hand, when Captain Levi the cat saw him and mewled eagerly, winding between his legs and purring slightly.

"Jager. What the hell is that." Levi ground out.

"It's a cat, Sir." Eren said, surprisingly calm. He'd been getting more and more mellow- Captain Levi the cat was very calming, and Eren wordlessly set his tray on a nearby empty table before scooping up his pet. "I honestly don't see the big deal, Captain. He's a really good cat. He catches mice down in the dungeons for me."

Levi frowned. He absolutely despised mice, of course- the filthy creatures left little shit pellets everywhere- but was a cat really any better?

"Where did you find him?" Hanji asked, eyes glittering slightly from behind her glasses.

"The warehouse district. He was a dirty and starving, so I brought him back..." Eren shrugged, taking a bite of his meal.

"What's it's name?"

"Hm?" Eren looked up mid-chew, green eyes looking over at Levi quizzically.

"What's the cat's name, Jager." Levi's gaze had become less angry and more curious, now.

"Captain Levi." Eren said calmly.

"Yes?" Levi raised his eyebrows at Eren, expecting his question answered.

"That's the cat's name, Sir. I named him after you."

Erwin choked on his sip of orange juice, coughing and grinning, while Hanji struggled to muffle her laughter behind her hand. Levi's eyes flashed angrily for a moment, and the soldiers in the dining hall stared, shocked, wondering if Eren was brave or suicidal.

"Unacceptable. Change his name at once."

"I can't, Sir. I've been calling him Captain Levi for two whole weeks now- he won't respond to anything else." Eren said simply. Erwin hid his smile behind his napkin, and Levi's eyes narrowed.

Eren wordlessly tossed a small piece of scrambled eggs onto the floor, and Captain Levi the cat trotted over, happily chowing down on the scrap.

Someone snicked. "Captain Levi's eating off the floor." they joked, using the cat's name to make a play on words. Levi stared daggers at Eren, who didn't seem to notice at all, as he simply kept eating his breakfast. Until the cat bent over and started to do the unthinkable...

Eren looked up sharply, frowning. "Captain Levi! Quit licking your ass!" he scolded the cat.

The entire dining hall burst into laughter, and Levi flushed, throwing down his fork and stalking out.

Captain Levi the cat wordlessly vaulted onto the bench, then onto the table, weaving between plates. The female soldiers cooed and some nuzzled him for a bit, and the males occasionally petted him.

When the cat vaulted onto Commander Erwin's table, sitting directly in front of the man's plate, sitting, amber eyes imploring him for attention, Erwin smiled, reaching out to pat him on the head. "Pleased to meet you, Captain Levi." yet again, Jager had found a way to amuse the entire Scouting Legion with his antics, however unintentionally. Erwin idly wondered if the boy was a genius, or if he simply had a death wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment what you think! :)


	7. Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright- so I'm back, and still writing, as you can see. This chapter is just a little snippet into Shingashina's climate, and how it's affected our trio. Also, Captain Levi actually shows (in his own angry way) that he cares for his soldiers.

It was a normal winter morning in the dining hall- quiet, silent, and slightly chilly in the dining hall, the candles lighting the room as dawn had only just begun to break. Bleary-eyed soldiers blinked owlishly, munching wordlessly on bowls of oatmeal and biscuits.

These mornings always started slowly- Levi wordlessly sipped at his tea, his characteristic hold on the tea cup as his eyes wordlessly surveyed the room. His soldiers would eat their breakfast, and he'd gather them up and assign them their daily duties.

The silence was broken as the door to the dining hall was thrown open, slamming against the wall with a bang. In the doorway stood Armin- tiny as the blond was, his blue eyes were incredibly wide, face red, and he bent nearly double, hands resting on his knees, panting for breath.

Eren and Mikasa, who'd been eating sluggishly a minute ago, were on their feet, Eren managing to knock over his chair in his hurry.

"What is it, Armin!?" Eren demanded, looking alarmed.

" _Hu-hu-_ It...it snowed!" Armin panted out, face lighting up.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for!?" Eren demanded, fairly dragging Arlet out of the dining hall. "C'mon Mikasa- don't just stand there- it SNOWED!"

Eren kicked open the front door, sending a blast of cold air into the room. "SNNNOOOOWWWW!" Eren let out a childish sounding laugh, Mikasa darting out like a cat after him, before the wind blew the door shut behind them with a loud bang.

The dining hall was dead silent for one moment, two...

"What the fuck?" Jean was the one who broke the silence, standing. "What's wrong with them, it's gotta be freezing out..."

Levi wordlessly stood, heading to the window.

He stood at the window, brushing away the curtains and staring out the glass pane...

Eren and Mikasa were pelting one another with snowballs, wrestling around in the snow, cheeks red, laughter floating up into the air and mingling with the snowflakes, while Armin began burrowing into the white substance, as though he were some sort of small creature....

Levi made sure to hide the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips, instead replacing it with a scoff. "Tch. Idiots."

He strode back over to his table, quickly raising his teacup to his lips again, allowing the cup to hide a small smile...

The brats were still children, in some ways.

Sasha and Connie had made their way over to the window, looking excited. Sasha seized Connie's hand, dark eyes gleaming with excitement. "Let's go."

Connie grinned, kicking open the door. "Hey- wait for us you guys!"

Still, Connie and Sasha's time outside proved to be short-lived- they were stumbling back into the dining hall less than ten minutes later, shivering and with runny noses.

"Ssssssoo... c-c-c-old..." Sasha mumbled around chattered teeth, as Connie frantically rubbed his numb hands together.

Levi rolled his eyes. "It can't be that cold. Those three idiots are still out there." he jerked his head towards the door, chancing a glance out the window.

"It's a snow-man!" Armin proudly displayed his snow-creation, eyes sparkling, and Eren grinned.

"It's a snow titan." Mikasa said calmly, motioning to the two-meter tall pile of snow she'd sculpted to look like a titan. Eren's eyes widened.

"Titan!" he barked, before tackling the creation to the ground, where it was no more than rubble. Mikasa smiled slightly from behind her scarf- she knew Eren would like her snow-creation better.

Levi snorted slightly, sipping his tea again. Erwin cocked an eyebrow at Levi, who purposely ignored the man's glance. Erwin knew Levi wasn't a big fan of rain, or precipitation in general, actually. Growing up in the underground city, he'd never seen rain or snow as a child, and even now, it seemed... unnatural.

"They made a tunnel system... fascinating." Hanji spoke up, and Levi looked over to see Eren's ass sticking out of the three feet of snow as he wormed his way into the tunnel after his friends. Of course, he expected this kind of shit from Jager, but he was a bit surprised to see how excited his friends had been, as well...

"I can't feet my hands!" Sasha cried out, tears dripping down her face as she grouched desperately before the fire.

"My nose is numb..." Connie said dismally.

"It hurts!" Sasha rubbed her hands together frantically, struggling to get rid of the pins and needles as the numbness receded...

"Oi. Get a grip, you two..." Levi started to brush them off, but Erwin was already striding over to them, looking concerned.

"Is your skin still pink? Any discoloration?" he was checking for signs of frost bite, Levi realized, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. As if they could get frostbite in ten scant minutes...

"The tips of your fingers will probably blister." Erwin said simply, looking at the paleness of Sasha's fingertips. "It's a mild case- you should be fine once the feeling returns to your hands..."

Levi looked up, slightly surprised at this, before he made his way over to the door, kicking it open.

"Oi! You three brats, inside, now!" Levi shouted, fighting back the urge to shiver and noting, with some degree of alarm, it was far colder than he'd anticipated outside. Maybe Sasha and Connie had been wise to come in when they did...

It appeared the Shingashina trio had begun erecting some sort of snow-fortress, and they might've been worshiping it as well, fuck, Levi had no idea. They all looked up at him, eyes wide and surprised he'd make them abandon such endeavors...

"But Captain, breakfast hour isn't over yet! We'll be prepared to start out chores on time, I promise..." Eren spoke up, vying to get more time outside.

"I don't give a shit about your chores, Jager- get your ass in here before you get pneumonia or freeze to death!" Levi snapped.

Nearly as soon on the words left his mouth, however, there was a rumbling sound in the distance. Jager looked up, looking horrified for a split second, before Levi's entire field of view was obscured by white.

The snow that'd been on the roof of the cone castle turret had come loose, sliding down to bury the three cadets. the last thing Levi heard was Armin;s scream before the three teens were gone.

Levi blinked, looking surprised for a split second before he was running, ignoring the cold and the snow and wind, sprinting over to the massive pile of snow and doing his best to estimate where he'd last seen the cadets before falling to his knees, beginning to dig...

In an instant, the entire dining hall was moving, soldiers shouting orders to get shovels from the barn and gloves and coats as they rushed to help Levi dig...

"Dammit, Jager! Why aren't you going Titan!?E Get yourself out!" Levi shouted as he clawed frantically at the snow. His yelling was more a plea than frustration.

"The cold might've hindered his Titan abilities. Titans have such a high body temperature, the shock of being buried might've put him into hibernation... or, if the snow is packed down tightly enough, it might've smothered all three of them..." Hanji muttered, from where she'd joined Levi in frantically digging.

"Eren! Stay with us down there, you hear me! I know it's gotta be a strain on that titan body of yours, but you have to stay alive!" Hanji screamed as she dug feverishly.

Soliders were rushing over with shovels, people were shouting orders, but even with the flurry of activity- it was Levi who uncovered the first tuft of brown hair...

"I've got him! Concentrate on digging over here!" Levi shouted. Within minutes, they'd managed to uncover eren;s head and shouldrs. Eren was pale, slumped over, something clutched desperately beneath either arm, like he was a mother hen with birds beneath his wings. The small fog escaping his mouth was proof enough he was alive.

Glassy green eyes fluttered open, focusing in on Levi.

"Armin." he muttered hoarsely. "G-get Armin. He's under my... left arm. He's too small, s-s-suceptible to the cold..." Eren stuttered out.

Some soldiers dove to obey him, pulling the blonde to the surface harshly. Armin gasped for air before collapsing, cheeks flushed from the cold. "P-please get him insssside... Mikasa, you there?" Eren's voice was hoarse, and soldiers were already moving to pull the girl out from beneath the snow beside him.

As soon as she'd been pulled free and rushed inside, Eren relaxed, allowing his body to sag into the snow, exhaustion taking over.

"Don't you fucking dare get buried again, Jager." Levi snarled, and Eren forced himself to stay above the snow and not sink to his knees as Levi tugged him out.

Levi pulled the teen into his arms. Eren wasn't even shivering, his body was as cold as Levi had ever seen it...

"How is this possible!?" Hanji was practically frothing at the mouth as Eren was rushing into the dining hall, laid out on a re-purposed table, his ice-cloaked jacket and shirt peeled off his body as soldiers frantically kindled a larger fire in the hearth and feverishly rubbed their hands over his limbs, working to get the blood flowing.

"I- he was submerged for nearly fifteen minutes! The cold alone is enough to kill humans, let alone titans... It's a scientific miracle! I need to get my notebooks!"

"He isn't in any shape to answer questions, shitty-glasses." Levi growled, moving to try and rub some warmth back into Eren's left leg.

"Eren- do you have any idea how this is possible?" Hanji asked.

Eren let out a dry chuckled that shocked everyone- the boy had been buried alive not minutes ago, but here he sat, laughing.

"I'll tell you how it's possible." Eren spoke hoarsely, giving Hanji a grin. "It was cold as fuck back in Shingashina. We're used to it."

With the words said, his eyes rolled back in his head before he finally succumbed to exhaustion.

"Of course it was." Levi muttered dryly, rubbing Eren's calf more aggressively as he spoke through grit teeth. "That does't mean you can nearly fucking die you shitty brat..."

It was three days later when a pale but shaky trio was allowed out of the infirmary and returned to their duties. As they ate breakfast in the mess hall, Commander Erwin stood up, addressing the entire room.

"It's come to our attention, due to recent events, that snow can be dangerous. Therefore, if any of you are so inclined to play in the snow, you will do so at least thirty meters from the castle, to avoid casualties..." Erwin didn't looked away from the Shingashina trio at all as he spoke.

Armin blushed and poked at his oatmeal with his spoon, slightly embarrassed they were being singled out in front of everyone by the Commander. Mikasa simply stared at Erwin, gauging whether or not he meant to intentionally embarrass Eren, while Eren nodded,, staring at his Commander seriously, taking his message to heart.

"It has also come to attention that, despite how familiar some of you are with the cold, you're not exactly equipped in winter-time first aid..."

"So don't get buried, because I'm not teaching you shitty brats winter first aid." Levi deadpanned, intense glare never leaving Eren. He was still aggravated at Eren for nearly dying on him, and while he'd never admit it to anyone- he'd been worried about the brat.

"In conclusion." Levi spat, voice making nearly everyone in the room cringe at his sharpness- "do not do anything fucking stupid outside, or anything fucking stupid in general. Understand?" Levi got out the last part between clenched teeth.

"Yes Sir." Eren responded, though he had to hide a smile. Though everyone else thought he was being verbally assaulted by Levi, Eren knew the Captain well enough to read between the lines and see the Captain had been worried about him. He was slightly touched, and more than a little proud of himself that the Captain cared about him.

Erwin and Levi wordlessly sat back down, and slowly, chatter in the dining hall resumed. Eren wordlessly kept eating his oatmeal, ignoring the way Levi glared over at Eren every few minutes, as though resenting the boy made him feel any emotion other than general concern.

Eren allowed his messy bangs to fall ingot his face and hide his slight smile as he took another bite of oatmeal. _Don't worry, Captain Levi- I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. And I care about you too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment- I love any constructive feedback! :)


	8. Unplesant Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren may be limited in hand-to-hand combat, but due to unfortunate circumstances, he's become skilled with a knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- so shit gets heavy here. Before you read this chapter, you might wanna read my take on Eren's time after wall Maria fell, before he was old enough to join the survey corps.
> 
> We know from the anime/manga that all able bodies were put to work in the fields, and that starvation was widespread. With all able adults being sent back to reclaim Wall Maria in the purge- so basically- Eren, Mikasa and Armin had to have spent at least a year or so working the fields without any adults to help them, and they were probably either living in shitty government provided quarters or on the streets.
> 
> From here is where I take up the pen a little and inject my own idea into what those two years were like. People were starving and desperate- family pets were often killed and eaten, stray animals were killed to be eaten, and an underground organization of cannibals rose up, making an underground, illegal business of selling the corpses of those who succumbed to starvation for meat.
> 
> Basically- Eren scrounged on the streets, desperate for food, and learned a lot the hard way. He doesn't want anyone to really know about that year of hell he had to live through- he knows his squad mates would think of him differently if they knew he'd spent his time going through garbage and fighting other kids for dead animals, and he's ashamed of what he's had to do- he, Armin and Mikasa rarely speak of it.
> 
> Like it? It's angsty, because I want it to be. Opinions?

"Seriously Reiner- I didn't do it!" Eren spoke up defensively from where the 104th sat in the dining hall, frustrated.

Reiner's normally blonde hair was neon-pink. After training, while his teammates had gone to dinner, Reiner had went to wash up, only to find the shampoo had been replaced with pink hair dye, and Reiner, in his fit of rage, had assumed Eren to be the perpetrator.

"Like hell you didn't, you sonofabitch!" Reiner spat, ice blue eyes intense, veins in his neck bulging as he gripped the edge of the table.

"Everyone just calm down! We don't wanna get in trouble!" Armin spoke up, sounding anxious as Reiner raised his voice. A few of the higher-ups- Levi, Erwin, and Hanji- were already throwing them glances, and the last thing they needed was to be disciplined.

"You think you can just sneak around and do this to somebody? You think you can just disrespect me like this?" Reiner demanded, lowering his voice, intense gaze landing on Eren.

"Reiner, I seriously didn't do it!" Eren protested, nostrils flaring. He just wanted to eat his dinner in peace- while he pranked a few people, like Jean, he wasn't dumb enough to prank Reiner. Reiner continued to glare at Eren, debating whether or not Eren was telling the truth. Eren continued eating dinner, and the table fell into awkward silence.

Petra strode into the room, stopping dead for a moment when she noticed Reiner's hair, before she covered her mouth with her hand, struggling to hide a giggle.

Reiner snapped, lunging across the table and tackling Eren to the ground, massive hands closing around the boy's throat.

_The man was choking the life out of him. He looked over at Mikasa, desperate. "T-take him out! Fight for your life! I-If you wanna live... you have to fight!"_

The heel of Eren's hand collided with Reiner's nose, and blood droplets flew through the air like maple leaves on an autumn wind. Reiner recoiled, surprised, and Eren took advantage of the opportunity to pull his knees up, placing both feet on Reiner's chest and kicking the larger boy off him, movement fluid like water. He leaped to his feet, instincts taking over, grabbing a knife from the table.

"You sonofabitch, I'll kill you!" Reiner yelled, cradling his bloody nose before charging.

_He was a child again, skinny, starving- everyone was fucking starving. There was a dead cat under his arm, pocket knife clutched in his free hand as he raced through the alleys, other starving kids chasing after him, trying to catch him, beat him, to take his kill..._

_Flashes of metal as knives clashed, alarmed shouts, stings of pain he ignored- if he took a moment to dwell on the small cuts, they'd gut him and his body would be sold to the corpse merchants..._

He threw himself forward, meeting Reiner head on. With a flash of metal and a cry, blood droplets rained down and Reiner cried out, while Eren darted to the side after completing his attack, stumbling back, knife still held ready in his hand, eyes wide, breath coming in short pants.

Reiner clutched his bleeding arm, the rage that'd been on his face replaced with a look of shock and pain for a brief second before he scowled, wound forgotten, moving towards Eren again.

Eren couldn't even hear the alarmed shouts of soldiers, the scrambling of people to get out of the danger zone- he was blind to everything but the situation at hand thanks to the adrenalin. He stepped in, booted foot colliding with Reiner's knee. There was a sickening crack before larger boy was on the ground, curled into a ball, panting and gasping...

"Well? You gonna come at me again? Go ahead, fucking try it- _I'll slice your throat this time, you sonofabitch..._ " Eren growled, voice taking on a tone he only used when he talked about titans.

Reiner lunged from where he was on the ground, trying to grab Eren's ankle...

Commander Erwin pounced on Reiner, moving to restrain the boy.

Someone grabbed Eren from behind.

_A searing pain split his side, his eyes widened- they'd gotten behind him, somehow, it was the most painful injury he'd received- they just might kill him. He whirled, knife lashing out savagely..._

Eren whirled, knife narrowly missing Captain Levi's chest as the man jumped back just in time. Eren's expression transformed from one of determination to horror, and he let the knife fall from his shaking hand with a clang.

The only sound was Eren's ragged breathing for a moment, as he came to terms with what he'd almost done. "...fuck." he muttered roughly, face taking on an expression of despair.

"Easy there. Follow me."

Eren looked up to see Levi had wiped the shock from his face, silver eyes staring at him seriously. He knew his Captain wouldn't punish him more than necessary- he trusted Levi the most out of anybody here, and he wordlessly fell into step behind the Captain as he was escorted out of the dining hall, not looking back.

The silence filled Captain Levi's office for several awkward minutes as they sat- Eren in a chair before him, Levi behind his desk as usual.

Eren finally summoned up the courage to look hesitantly up at Levi. "I-I'm sorry I lashed out at you, Sir..."

"Save it. You weren't cognitive of what you were doing, you'd just been attacked, and you reacted. You were somewhere else in that moment- I could see it in your eyes."

Eren's eyes widened, slightly horrified Levi knew that much- before he quickly looked down at his feet. Thankfully, Levi didn't speak again, and the room was dead silent. After what seemed like hours, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, before Erwin stepped into the office, closing the door behind him.

"Reiner's fine. He had to have some stitches, but he'll be alright." Erwin announced.

"Does he still wanna kill me?" Eren asked, voice somewhat bitter.

"No. After seeing all the trouble they'd caused, two of your squad mates- Braus and Springer- confessed to putting the dye in his shampoo. Reiner realized how blown out of proportion things got- he wanted me to tell you how sorry he was for his actions." Erwin relayed.

Eren scoffed slightly, looking away. Fat lot of good that'd do, now that everyone had seen how skilled he was with a knife...

"Eren- where'd you get so good with a knife?" Erwin asked earnestly, arms crossed, perching on the edge of Levi's desk.

I learned it on the streets fighting the other kids for scraps of food we found in the trash, fighting the gangs and the killers in the alleys, trying to get by...

"I... I learned it after Wall Maria fell." Eren spoke quietly, still staring at the ground, eyes pained.

"Who taught you?" Levi asked, eyes inquisitive. Eren had skills- he briefly wondered if Eren had run into somebody like Kenny to teach him.

Eren laughed. It was a humorless laugh that didn't reach the boy's eyes. "Teacher? You're kidding me, right? The only teacher I had was pain- from when I messed up and got hit by somebody else's blade first..."

"You were fighting other people?" Erwin's eyes widened.

Eren looked at him like he was stupid. "All the adults were gone- we learned to fend for ourselves. Can I go now?" he really didn't want to talk about what his life had been like before the army- after his mother had died, when he'd been too young to join the military- those two years had been hell. He didn't want to discuss the gritty details with his superiors.

"What were you thinking about? When Reiner attacked you- I saw you go from surprised to focused in an instant, Eren- you'd been in that position before. When?"

Eren clenched his hands into fists at Erwin's question. "A man nearly choked me to death when I was nine."

"Can you elaborate?"

"No." Eren ground out.

Erwin frowned. "Why not?"

"It's not my story to tell- it involves Mikasa, too. You can read about it in my record, if you're so inclined, Sir." Eren's voice was positively dripping with acid, and Erwin was surprised. He'd seen the boy angry and defensive, but never angry and defensive towards him...

"You can go, Eren." Levi spoke up. Eren looked relieved, giving Levi a nod of thanks, before he turned and fled the room as quickly as possible.

Erwin frowned. "That boy's been through hell..."

"Our trials are what make us who we are. There's no point in dwelling on it- he had a shitty childhood, and he'll only get defensive if we try and press anymore out of him."

Erwin nodded to Levi. "You know more about this than me, I suppose. What do you suggest we do?"

"Leave him alone. Treat him as usual- he's our hope- his past shouldn't matter." Levi felt like for once in his life, he was speaking for both him and Eren when he said it- their pasts didn't matter- they were here, fighting for humanity, now. That was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other words, Eren has far more life experience than any fifteen year old should.


	9. Vermin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I was having writers block, but luckily this came up- I like it. It's more Eren/Levi bonding, sorta, since I feel like after the last chapter Levi would feel a little kinship with Eren, realizing he learned a lot of stuff on the streets like him.
> 
> How would you guys feel about ship-specific chapters? Like, nothing plot-heavy or critical in them- just chapters with a certain pairing. If you don;t like the pairing, you don't have to read the chapter, since like I said, it's not plot-heavy or anything, but just something for the shippers to enjoy. You can pick and choose your ship-chapter and make it go with the story.
> 
> So for example, if I write 5 ship chapters and you only like 3 of the pairing, you can ignore the other two and just read the ones you want to and insert them into the story as cannon. Please review with your thoughts on this! :)

Along with winter came mice. The bitter cold sent the small creatures of outside scrambling inside, looking for warmth. Usually, it was just a handful or so of mice in the pantry, nothing that traps couldn't handle. But this year, it must've been some sort of rodent convention, because the little vermin were everywhere.

Soldiers yelped in the dining hall, and while remarkably, the females screamed curses and the males scrambled to get onto the benches, screeching, as an ENORMOUS rodent scrambled around on the floor.

Levi burst into the room, blades ready, only to find the scouting legion losing their shit over a rodent. He was pissed- both that all his soldiers could lose their shit over a rodent, and that said rodents were in HIS castle, filthy bastards, shitting all over and mucking the place up with their rodent germs.

The dining hall was still in chaos, of course, soldiers skittering to get their feet off the ground, standing on benches and knocking over cups and bowls.

Levi was about to reprimand everyone, when he saw the creature for himself. It was a big-ass rat, longer than a foot, if you counted the naked pink tail dragging behind it- it was absolutely huge and disgusting, and Levi took a step back for a moment, appalled.

The door on the opposite side of the dining hall flew open, hitting the wall with a bang, and a half-dressed Eren Jager stumbled into the room in all his shirtless glory, something held in his arms. Eren tossed whatever it was he was holding on the floor, green eyes shining as he started to pull on his shirt. "Kill it, Captain Levi!"

Captain Levi the cat had grown in the few months Eren had had him to full size, looked up at Eren, orange eyes angry as it landed on the ground, as though to ask him why the fuck he'd been so unceremoniously torn from his nap. Then he caught a glimpse of movement to his left. Instantly the cat's posture changed, it's tail straightened, pupils going wide, before it was bounding after the bastard rodent.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Eren was chanting a little too enthusiastically. But the mess hall joined him anyways- the chanting continued as the rat scuttled across the stone floor, looking frantic, cat a few feet behind it. There was a flash of fur and teeth, a muffled squeak, before everything in the room was silent.

The cat wordlessly strode over to Captain Levi, his namesake, dead rat hanging from his lips, before it dropped the dead creature at the Captain's boots, amber eyes looking up at the Captain as though to say- "I killed the shitty thing."

The dining hall was dead silent. it was eerie, almost, how like Captain Levi the cat was. But absolutely no one expected Captain Levi to react well to the cat's offering of a dead rodent- the man was far too much of a clean freak, everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for the impending explosion.

Levi squinted down at the rat, nudging it with the toe of his boot. The rat made no response, and, satisfied it was dead, Levi turned.

"Jager."

"Sir?"

"Put your cat in the pantry today. It'll clean up the rodents. And somebody pick up this dead-ass rat." Levi turned and stalked away, looking eerily cat-like, eager to put today's morning shenanigans behind him.

* * *

 

"I thought I told you to put him in the pantry, Jager." Levi spoke up as he happened upon Jager in a deserted hallway that evening, cat in his arms.

"I did, Sir. He was in there all day" Eren said, fidgeting nervously.

"Well, leave him there. He's a cat, they're nocturnal anyways, it's not like he'll care..."

Eren was staring at his boots, looking downcast, and Levi knew something was wrong. "Oi. Spit it out, kid, what's the issue?"

"There are rats in the dungeon." Eren mumbled.

Levi's eyes widened in surprise slightly. Why hadn't Jager told him this? It was absolutely unacceptable-

"It's not that big a deal, I seriously don't mind it. It's just, at night, when I'm sleeping- they crawl on me. And they bite, sometimes. Captain Levi here keeps them off me." Eren said simply, nodding to the cat in his arms. "So- can I keep him down there with me? Just at night, of course, he can kill rats in the pantry during the day time, but just while I'm sleeping..."

Levi was starting at Eren, eyes wide. He noticed a few healing scabs on the boy's arms and realized they were healing rodent bites, and he fought to school his expression. If he looked disgusted, Jager would think he'd done something wrong, but still- what had the kid had to live through that he thought it was acceptable to live with rats?

Levi's eyes narrowed. "You'll be sleeping upstairs tonight."

"But Sir-" Eren began to protest, looking shocked.

"Did I stutter, Jager?" Levi cocked an eyebrow, daring the boy to question him. Eren took a step back, looking hesitant.

"Go on. Get your things from the dungeon- that's an order, Jager."

Eren nodded, dashing from the room. He looked surprised to see Levi was still there when he came back, a heap of bedding in his hands.

Levi scoffed. "What? You thought I'd just let you sleep in the corridors? Pick your jaw up off the floor and follow me, shitty brat."

Eren did as he was told, stumbling after the Captain, tripping over his own feet in his haste. Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Still, Jager looked as though he was going to piss himself from fear when Levi led him to the Captain's quarters. "S-sir?"

"In." Levi ordered curtly. Eren ducked inside, though Levi realized the boy was shocked at the prospect of being allowed in his quarters.

Eren looked around quietly. The room was a generous size, it was spotless and kept with military efficiency- tucked in the far corner was Levi's bed, a comfy looking four-poster, with a nightstand and a lamp, and there was a small desk in the corner across from the bed, while, tucked into the third corner was a small couch and a coffee table.

There was a heavy oak door that no doubt led into an en suite, and Eren wordlessly found a place on the nearly spotless floor, starting to awkwardly arrange his bedding.

Levi frowned. "Oi. You aren't sleeping on the floor, brat... get in bed."

Eren looked absolutely terrified at the prospect- the boy blushed a deep red, and he shook his head, hands starting to shake.

"N-no Sir... I couldn't..."

"It's a bed, Jager. We will only be sleeping in it."

"Please just let me sleep on the floor, Sir..." Eren was staring at the ground, now, his hands were shaking slightly, that brilliant blush still on his cheeks. Levi took a moment to re-evaluate the situation, realizing how uncomfortable Eren was.

"Alright, Jager- sleep where you want. Just- don't spend the whole night on the floor."

Eren nodded, wordlessly gathering up his things and making himself a small bed on the little couch. Within twenty minutes, the boy was asleep.

Levi pulled off his jacket and harness, unlacing his boots and sliding into his own bed. Still, something kept nagging at him- tugging at him, really, and he found himself sitting in the red upholstered chair across from Jager's couch, studying the sleeping boy.

Jager looked much less aggressive when he was slept-the angry lines on the boy's face softened, the normally flaming green eyes were covered, and tufts of brown hair fell in his face as his pink lips parted slightly. He looked so much... younger... when he slept. That only served to exacerbate Levi's guilt. He was responsible for the boy, he should've gone down to the dungeon, should've seen the conditions- but he hadn't. And here he was, staring at the boy he'd taken responsibility for.

"Next time- just tell me there's rats in the dungeon or that you need something, you insufferable brat." Levi said, though his tone betrayed the connection he felt for Eren. He was responsible for the boy, after all.

Levi sighed. "You don't have to be so strong all the time, you brat. I'm here, if you ever need anything..." he trailed off, looking down at the sleeping kid in front of him. He wondered if he'd say that to the boy when he was awake. He liked to think he didn't have to, that Eren knew he was always there for him- but ti was hard to tell what went on in Eren's head.

"Have a good sleep, kid." he said, ruffling the boy's hair before crossing the room and climbing into bed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, did you like it or not? the whole point of his is that it can be read as early riren or strictly bromance, depending on what you want it to be. Also- thoughts on the ship-specific chapters?


	10. Explosive Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another weird-ass Shinganshina tradition is discovered.

There was an explosion. Levi's door flew open, a half-dressed Erwin staring at Levi, who'd been signing paperwork.

"Prepare for combat! We have a confirmed explosion in the yard!"

Levi jumped to his feet, for once thankful he was up at odd hours in the night doing paper work as he began to equip his 3DMG.

"Who the fuck is attacking us in the dead of winter!? And what the hell was that explosion- it sounded like cannon fire!" Levi spoke quickly, getting his weapons ready, and Erwin said nothing, frowning and rushing to ready himself as well. Within three minutes they sprinted into the front yard….

There was a bonfire roaring, about five feet in diameter and seven feet tall, blazing where someone had dug a hole out for it in the snow.

Soldiers were gathered in the yard in the freezing night, breath clouding in front of them, while a figure tended to the massive fire, and two others fiddled with something….

"Eren, get down!"

Both figured took cover, before there was a _woosh_ and something shot into the air, exploding into blue sparks. The crowd oohed and ahhed, and even Levi was taken aback for a moment by the brilliance of it, before he remembered why he was here.

"Jager! The fuck are you doing with explosives!?"

Levi stalked over, finding the culprits for everything standing in the yard. Mikasa shoveled something into the bonfire, which roared, while Eren and Armin stood beside a pile of small, rocket-like devices, looking at their Captain with confusion….

"You have three seconds to explain yourselves." Levi deadpanned, eyes anything but amused.

"It's New Year's, Sir." Eren said, giving his commanding officer a sideways look. "We were just celebrating it like usual…."

Levi stared. "You mean to tell me that you three celebrate the new year by nearly blowing yourself up with colored explosives and lighting massive fires?"

"Doesn't everyone, Sir?" Armin asked, looking confused. Levi turned to the child-like blonde, and realized he was genuine.

"No, Arlet- in fact, setting fires and explosives is in fact, illegal or an act of war, in most places."

"Is it illegal here?" Mikasa asked, lowering her scarf to speak.

"Well, not specifically…."

"Then we're golden!" Eren said with a grin, nodding to Armin. "Hand me another one!"

Armin handed Eren a small paper rocket, and Eren wordlessly struck a match, lighting the fuse.

"Jager what the hell-"

"Get down!" Eren shouted gleefully, as both he and Arlet fell face-first into snow, dragging Levi down with them. A moment later there was a hiss as the rocket launched into the air, before exploding into green pinwheels.

Levi stared. He was now soaking wet from the snow, staring up.

"How the hell do those even DO that?" Levi demanded, staring up at the sky.

"You like them, Sir?" Armin grinned gleefully. "They're called fireworks- we used to buy them in Shingashina, but since we can't anymore, I made them…."

Mikasa shoveled another heap of something into the bonfire.

"Oi! What are you burning !? Resources are scant enough as it is, if you're using wood-"

"We already thought of that, Sir." Eren piped up gleefully. "We figured wood was too valuable, so we gathered up all the soiled hay from when we were cleaning the stables…."

All Levi could think about was how unsanitary that was as he quickly got to his feet.

"You shitty brats do this every year?"

Eren gave him that stupid-grin of his, throwing his arm over Arlet's shoulders. "Of course, Captain- it's tradition!"

Levi spent a good moment wondering how any of these kids had survived this long.

Armin smiled, and Mikasa hummed, tossing another shovel full of shit into the bonfire.

Levi frowned. "Well, congratulations. You three idiots have succeeded in waking up the entire regimen with your shitty tradition. Everyone has duties to complete tomorrow- including you. So wrap this shit up so we can all go to bed."

Eren nodded. "Of course, Sir. Armin- prepare the sacrifice!"

Levi did a double-take, finding Armin holding a rather-large looking explosive with a poorly-made doll tied to it.

Looking closer, Levi saw the doll had been made from an old sock, with uneven button eyes and sloppy stitching that all screamed Jager had been the one to make it.

"To a good new year!" Armin said cheerfully, as he handed the large rocket to Eren.

Eren nodded. "To a good new year." he said somberly, before he tucked it into the cardboard box with the remainder of their fireworks. Before Levi could ask him what the hell he was doing, Eren had tossed the box into the bonfire….

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Eren shouted, flopping into the snow and covering his ears.

Armin followed suit, as did Mikasa, and within an instant the entire scouting legion was laying in the snow, a massive whistling sound filled the air, and fireworks shot off in all directions….

The only sound to be heard over the cacophony of colorful explosions were Eren's maniacal laughter.

"Happy New Year, Armin!" he shouted, grinning at his small, blond friend as the night sky exploded in colors.

Red pinwheels clashed with blue bursts, yellow flashes fizzling and silver swirls taking over the sky, with intermittent bursts of green and white….

The explosions went on for a good minute or so, and despite the noise and the danger in setting them off, Levi couldn't help but notice how… captivating the fireworks were.

Eventually, the last firework- a silver swirl- went off with a bang, before the night fell eerily silent, the only sound the crackling of the bonfire.

Eren sat up, brushing the snow off his clothes.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted…." he admitted, and Levi bit back a stinging remark when he saw the sad reminiscent look in the boy's eyes.

"It's over?" Connie asked, eyes disappointed. "Seriously? That was the first time I've seen something like that… it was beautiful..." his voice got quieter near the end, but Levi still picked up the awe in the boy's statement.

Hanji was rushing over a moment later, nearly frothing at the mouth.

"Armin! how did you make the fireworks and what's the cultural significance of your tradition and how did it affect your childhood…." her notebook was ready, glasses glowing eerily in the firelight.

"Oi. You can interrogate the pyromaniacs later- it's nearly midnight. Go to bed, all of you."

Slowly, people started to disperse, heading back to the barracks, bleary-eyed but still talking about the fireworks. Levi wordlessly dragged a crate over and sat down, and the Shingashina trio exchanged glances….

"What are you doing, Sir?"

Levi scoffed. "You really think I trust you three bumbling idiots to put out this huge ass fire properly?"

"Well…."

"Jager. Shut up." Levi warned, and Eren obediently closed his mouth.

"We could shovel snow onto it, to make it go out faster." Armin suggested, trying to be helpful.

Levi scoffed. "And leave a pile of shitty hay in the yard? No. Let it burn. You three will clean up the ashes in the morning."

Levi had expected some sort of protest, but Mikasa merely nodded, Armin thought that seemed more than fair, and Eren was too engrossed staring into the flames to argue.

So they sat in silence, watching their breath mist in front of them as the (quite literally) shitty fire burned down.

Once it was only ashes and smoke, Mikasa heaped a couple of shovels full of snow atop it, just to be certain it wouldn't start up again.

They parted, Mikasa and Armin wishing Eren a Happy New Year and a good night, which Eren returned, before he and Levi were heading back inside the castle.

Levi was relatively cold and uncomfortable in his wet clothes, though he didn't show it- he was a perfect soldier, maintaining his normal bored expression. Eren looked no better- the boy was positively drenched, and he had a handful of singed hair- probably from the fireworks. Still, despite the boy's wet attire and slightly blue lips, he wasn't even shivering. Probably because he'd been conditioned to harsh winters as a child.

"Happy New Year, Captain." he said, with that dumb smile still on his face. Levi simply gave the boy an unamused glare, and Eren, getting the message, ducked down into the dungeons.

As soon as the brat was out of sight, Levi allowed his face to soften, slightly. "Happy New Year, brat." he muttered, before power-walking upstairs to his quarters, eager for dry clothes and a warm bed.


	11. ErenXAnnie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- this is the first of the shipping chapters, featuring ErenXAnnie. As I mentioned earlier, I like my stories to be all inclusive, meaning that these ship-specific chapters contain no plot events, and are mostly just drabbles. 
> 
> Why exclude the plot elements, you ask? Well, if I have one reader who loves ErenXAnnie and one reader who absolutely HATES ErenXAnnie, then the person who loves the ship is satisfied by reading the chapter, and the person who hates the ship simply skips over the clearly-labeled ship chapter, doesn't miss any plot specific elements, and continues to read the story without having to read any ships they don't like.
> 
> In other words, if you don;t like the ship, just skip this chapter! :)

She was quiet-her ice blue eyes surveyed absolutely everything, gauging threat level, blonde bangs often hiding her sharp face, stature deceptively small compared to the power coiled within her. Eren had known it the moment he first laid eyes on her- she was different.

They'd exchanged a breif look at one another in boot camp on that very first day, before he'd nodded to her, falling into position in line. This girl- whoever she was- knew what the world was like. He didn't know how the famine had affected her, if she'd been forced to scrounge through garbage and fight off the gangs working for the corpse markets- but he could tell, simply by the look in her eyes, that she wasn't someone to be trifled with. He liked that.

He watched her- out of the corner of his eye, as they progressed through drills, even at dinner that night. He knew she did the same to him, and every now and again he'd throw a discerte glance in her direction and find she was doing the same to him- he smiled slightly, looking away quickly, and she did the same. Still, he could've sworn he saw a light blush color her cheeks for a split second, beneath her platinum hair.

He followed her behind the mess hall after dinner, coming up with some sort of excuse to Mikasa and Armin.

As soon as he'd rounded the corner, there was a fist flying at him. It was only instinct that made him jump back, but it was habit that had him draw the knife he kept stashed in his boot. It was pratice that made him stop for a breif second and survey his opponent, only to see Annie doing the same beneath those blonde bangs she was always hiding behind.

A small smile crossed her lips. "You're different."

She'd dropped her fighting stance, and Eren did the same, tucing his knife away. "So?" he cocked an eyebrow. "Everyone's different."

She shook her head, bangs falling away from her face and revealing those blue eyes. "Not like us. What's your story?" she'd leaned against the wall, arms crossed, surveying him critically.

He narrowed his eyes. "That's a long, shitty story." he growled out. "I learned from the school of life. You?"

"Same." she admitted, brushing some hair from her face to look at him. "Eren, is it?"

He nodded, stepping back slightly. "Yeah. Annie, right?"

She nodded wordlessly, the small smile on her lips evidence of all he needed to know.

"Well- uh- I'll see you around, Annie." Eren said, nodding to her seriously before turning and hurrying towards the boy's barrack- he had to be back before bedcheck.

* * *

 

The slap of a large hand connecting with flesh echoed across the entire dining hall, and everyone stared, shocked that someone would make such a brazen move- and on the girl who had hardly spoken three words, no less.

Reiner grinned, turning to look at Annie with a triumphant smirk on his face, as though he expected to be rewarded for his actions.

Annie's eyes had widened, her face red with humiliation, and her fist clenched, ready to punch him...

Reiner was on the ground before she'd even lifted her hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Eren!" Mikasa's warning was lost on the boy, as he grabbed a fistful of Reiner's shirt and lifted the dazed boy off the ground.

"That's how you treat a girl!? Like she's a piece of meat!? You're disgusting..." Eren snarled.

"She was asking for it! Covered all that up, being so quiet- and what business is it of yours anyways, Jager!?" Reiner protested right back.

"She clearly wasn't 'asking for it' , you ignorant fuck! If she wants you to slap her ass, she will ask you. Oh wait- she didn't! Guess that means she didn't want you to!"

"What the hell is your problem, Jager!? Oh- I see." Reiner smirked. "You two... you're a thing."

"We're not 'a thing'." Eren growled out between clenched teeth. "But if you act like this with the girls, I will personally make sure they never find your body. Especially if you touch Mikasa, or her again..." Eren let go of Reiner's shirt, letting the boy fall to the floor and getting to his feet, dusting himself off and sitting back down. Still, as he had a forkful of food half-way to his mouth, Annie caught the look her was giving her beneath his shaggy brown bangs and lowered her eyes, nodding. She was alright.

Question answered, Eren turned back to his meal- though he made certain to look over every now and again and make sure she was alright.

* * *

 

"Damn- I think you ruptured my spleen." Eren choked out around a mouthful of dirt.

He looked up when he heard it- the small sound, almost inaudible, like the tinkling of silver bells- Annie was giggling, hand pressed over her mouth, face flushed slightly as she looked down at the boy in a heap at her feet.

He was shocked for a oment- he'd never heard Annie laugh before- but he was laughing, as well, then.

"Seriously- when I meant extra combat pratice, I didn't mean getting the shit kicked out of me."

"Well you should stop running into my fists." Annie said softly, still smiling, as she bent down to help up the tangled ball of limbs and dirt that was Eren Jager. "Did the school of life teach you how to whine like that?"

"No. That's just my shitty personality showing through." Eren replied cheekily.

Annie grinned, their eyes meeting in the darkness on the training field, before their lips were together...

Eren's eyes widened a moment in surprise, but a second later he was completely relaxed, like putty in her hands. His hands on her hips, Annie's soft palms exploring his chest, something ignited within Eren when her tongue teased across his lower lip...

It felt as though he'd been struck by lightening, and Eren knew Annie had felt it, too, when she pulled back abruptly, surprised.

"I- uh- I have to go..." Annie stuttered out lamely, turning to run away. She was stopped by Eren's hand holding her wrist.

"Wait. Y-you don't have to run away from me, you know- just- why don't you stay, just for a bit?"

She found herself shakily leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around her. "Please don't be afraid of me." he said. So he could feel her heart racing, then, could feel her shaking...

She looked up, only to have him tuck her head underneath his chin. "Why do you always run from everything you care about?" his voice was soft, caring.

"E-eren..." her voice was shaking, vunerable. "I- I can't... We'll never work out! You and I both know it!" she'd pulled away from him now, staring at him, hair whiping around her as tears streaked down her face. "I-I'm going into the military police, a-and you're a suicidal bastard... you'll join the scouts and die!"

Why? Why did everything she cared for have to be ripped from her so cruelly? Why did someone like Eren have to be so selfless, so naieve?

"I know. I know, Annie, and I'm sorry that fate is going to take us away from eachother. But- let's just enjoy now, while we can- that way, we have good memories of eachother, to help us through the hard times..."

She was clinging to him, crying into his chest. He let her, arms wrapping around her, body sheltering her from the chilly wind as he tucked her head beneath his chin, and she cried for all she was worth, then, burying her face in his chest and sobbing, lamenting what could've been.

Two clumsy thumbs brushed the tears away from her face, and she found herself looking up at his big, dumb face. "It's gonna be okay, Annie. I'll join the Scouts- we'll wipe the titans off the face of the Earth- and when the Scouts aren't needed anymore, I'll come back for you..."

They both knew that wasn't going to happen, and that he'd more than likely die. "Y-you're a fucking idiot." she said with certainty.

Eren laughed- it was a warm laugh, one that sent a jolt through her, and he pulled her closer to him. "Yeah, I am. But I'm your idiot."

She buried her face in his chest, clining to him, then, trying to memorize the scent of him, to ingrain every detail of him into her being, so that once they were separated, he'd still be with her.

Eren just held her, running a hand through her platinum hair- enjoying the now.

* * *

 

He knew something was terribly wrong when he heard her laugh. It wasn't the laugh he'd heard all thos emonths ago, the giggle that sounded like silver bells. It was a derranged cackle of sorts, with so much insanity it alarmed him. How could Annie- his Annie- be the monster that'd killed countless friends, that'd murdered the Levi squad before his eyes?

"Annie, no!" He had to help her. If he could just run up these steps and grab her before she bit her hand, if he could just hold her- she'd stop, he'd be able to grab her and she'd cry, cry just like she had before, and they'd talk and figure something out...

Mikasa stopped him, her hand on his wrist holding him captive as he struggled. "NO! Annie, please!"

Their plain-clothes civilans were rushing to restrain her, now, but there was a flash of metal, a ribbon of crimson, before lightening split the air.

"Annie!"

He had to fight her. He'd transformed, chasing after her, doing his best to drag her down without hurting her too much- but he'd had to hurt her.

He'd caved half her face in, she'd started to climb the wall, desperate for escape, and he'd been about the let her. Be couldn't kill her- he couldn't do it. But Mikasa cut off her fingers, and she came crashing back down to him.

He had to help her- he had to pull her out without hurting her, and he bit the nape as delicately as he could in his adrenalin-induced insanity, finding her alright- there were tears streaming down her face.

He realized it, then. There was no helping her, no pulling her out. She'd be tortured, punished by humanity for he crimes, and there was nothing he could do to help her.

He felt it again- like lightening, ripping at his insides. She was going to absorb him, they were going to meld- become one. They would die in the process, but he let it happen- dying with her was the only option where they could be together, and he'd do it- for Annie, he'd do anything.

A blade cleaved through the flesh on his neck, then, Levi yanked him from his titan form mercilessly before death could have him.

"Tch- you can't _eat_ our only evidence, idiot."

Levi's eyes widened for a moment, though, and Eren felt wetness on his cheeks and realied he was crying. That was the last thing he remembered before unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

 

It'd been two days since he'd woken up, his body was still in shambles, but as soon as he could stand, he'd stumbled out of the room, ordering two soldiers to take him to her. They'd been uncertain at first, but then he'd pulled a knife and they'd quickly made up their minds, leading him to the underground passage.

He'd ordered them to leave, still holding his knife as assurance, before he'd been alone with her.

She was beautiful as ever- he realized everything, now, why she'd kept herself at arms length from everyone else, why she'd wanted to joint the Military Police, why she'd just wanted to be normal... He was the only one she'd trusted. And he'd betrayed her, made her do this.

It was cold here, underground, so cold, and she was immortalized within this glass, unable to touch him. He found himself on his knees, sobbing, choking on his own emotion.

"I-I'm sorry, Annie, I'm so sorry..."

He was a heap on the ground, again, only this time, he was begging for forgiveness, begging for her to come out of her prison and speak to him.

The soldiers who'd taken him here must've alerted the higher ups, and someone kicked open the door. If he'd given a shit, he would've seen it was Levi and Erwin, but he didn't care, simply staring at her- his goddess- imprisoned, destined to a life of hell- because of his actions. He should've let her go over the walls, at least then, she'd have been free...

Erwin exchanged glances with Levi. They'd been told Eren had forced two guards to take him to Annie and knife point and feared a conspiracy- feared he was going to free her and escape with her- but it was clearly not going to happen. Jager was sitting in front of the crystal that held the girl, sobbing his eyes out.

Levi looked at the boy with a pitying glance, then, connecting the dots- Eren had been so hesitant to transform to begin with, had tried to merge with the girl rather than killing her, why he'd been crying when he'd pulled him from his titan body.

"He loved her."

"Annie! Annie please! I- I didn't- I never meant... I'm so sorry! T-this is my fault, all of it, and I never deserved you and I'm sorry..." every note of Jager's voice was laced with pain, and he was sobbing on the stone floor, begging for her to wake up and kill him like he deserved.

They let him cry until he'd passed out from exhaustion, before Levi gathered him up and took him back to his room, where his sister had been on the verge of eviscerating the careless guards and his blonde friend had been pacing nervously.

* * *

 

He never spoke of what he'd done, or now they'd found him, crying out her name on the floor. He never said her name.

But everyone saw the difference in Eren. The way his eyes were tired, haunted, even. It was in his drive- he pushed himself to the brink during training, he'd work until the point of collapse and then some.

He roamed the castle at night, though. At all odd hours, Levi would find him stumbling through corridors or up in the turrets, looking up at the sky with a few tears running down his face. Levi followed the boy every time, careful to keep out of sight. He kept tabs on the boy, not only because it was his responsibility, but because he cared about the teenager, though he'd never admit it.

Levi was one of a select few privy to the fact that Eren Jager had been wounded deeply in the fight against the female titan. Not physically, but it was a scar in the boy's very demeanor everyone could see but few could explain. Levi knew th reason, though- he'd loved her.

Slowly, Jager got better at hiding it. He still wandered the castle at night, but he cried less, and his eyes grew a little brighter in training. He laughed a bit more, even smiled, sometimes, to reassure his sister he was alright. Bit by bit, Jager's personality returned.

Still, though, he wandered the castle at night, and more often then not, Levi would find Jager on the rooftop, staring up at the night sky with a far-off look in his eyes.

His resolve was even strengthened, it seemed. He seemed more certain than every that he'd eradicate the titans, re-take Wall Maria, and find whatever was in his basement. Levi found himself wondering that if, once he found what was in his basement, he'd come back for the girl. Maybe Annie had been absorbed into his mind, his goals, into the entire plan, even- he had no doubt that if Jager could free the girl, he would, and he'd plead for her before all the courts and beg for her pardon- if not because she'd committed her crimes to try and hide her titan ability, then for one simple reason- he loved her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, ErenXAnnie shippers? What do you think? Please comment! :)


	12. Starvation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright- I took a few creative liberties here with this chapter. I believe that after the fall of Shingashina, orphaned, in the middle of the famine, Eren, Armin and Mikasa would've been through some crap. They've developed street skills, we we can see by Mikasa's skill with hand to hand combat, Eren's affinity for knives, and Armin's strategic genius. They all developed these on the streets.
> 
> They largely don't talk about their past, since it was a dangerous, unpleasant time. They were just trying to get by until they joined the military. But in this chapter, a situation arises and the squad finds out some of the unsavory details of the kid's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thanks for sticking with me through the long wait, guys! :)

Levi surveyed the group of brats under his Command, forcing himself not to look grim, despite the circumstances.

They'd been meant to go on a three day-training excursion outside the walls, exploring territory that'd recently been surveyed and deemed titan free.

It'd gone to hell. They'd been pinned down within the remains of a small, barely walled-village going on five days. It was only luck that they hadn't encountered any titans tall enough to break down the fifteen meter wall, gas ran low, and they were surrounded on all sides.

They'd been put on starvation rations- and though Levi didn't say anything, the troop knew the circumstances were dire that evening.

As they huddled around the somewhat pitiful fire that night, rations were handed out. Everyone received a sip of water from a skin, and a small, maggot-filled piece of bread that was fuzzing with the beginnings of mold. What little supplies they'd had had been drenched in a thunderstorm the first evening, and was moldering.

No one complained. Levi watched the brat's reactions morosely- he was worried. It'd take the Corps approximately a day until they didn't return before they sent aid , and if the titans around were as thick as they were here on the route, they could be here for another three days. Three days they didn't have food for.

Everyone was hungry- Levi saw the proof of it when they simply picked the maggots out of their bread.

Some took it better than others- some scowled at the meal, but said nothing. There was the loud sound of chewing, then, and Levi looked across the fire, slightly shocked to see Jager tearing into his bread, not evening bothering to pick out the maggots.

Levi resisted the urge to gag and look away, and while nobody said anything, an air of discomfort settled over the campfire.

Eren didn't seem to notice, though. He continued to tear into his food without a care in the world- maggots and all. There was an almost animalistic look in his eyes, and Levi looked away, uncomfortable…

Eren finished off the last bits of the bread, sucking on his fingers and searching for any crumbs.

"You're fucking disgusting."

Everyone looked up, surprised, to see Jean leering over at Eren, nose wrinkled, a look of pure disgust on his face.

Before anyone could react, Eren had Jean pinned against the crumbling wall in the rubblefield that was their camp. He'd pulled a knife from somewhere, and he let the metal dance off Jean's cheek idly, not drawing blood, but letting the boy know it was there.

"Wanna say that again, Jean?" Eren breathed.

"Eren, what the hell!?" Jean yelled, looking alarmed, and suddenly very scared.

"Do it, Eren- I dare you! Gut him!" Ymir cheered from the sidelines.

" _Eren!_ " Armin called out, voice anxious, wanting his friend to stop.

"Stop! Everybody _just stop!_ " Christa's voice rose above the startled exclamations, her pale face standing out in the firelight. "Everyone's hungry, tempers are running short- let's just calm down…."

"You don't know what hungry is." Eren's voice was rough, as though he'd just gargled nails, and he didn't let go of Jean's shirt or pull his blade away from his face.

He grinned at Jean, who was looking frightened.

"Let me ask you something, Jean. Have you ever killed a stray dog, gutted it, and _ate_ it?"

"N-no. _Just let me go, Eren!_ " Jean's voice boarded on frantic.

Eren ignored Jean's plea, eyes searching every inch of the boy's face, before he continued.

"Have you ever sat in an alley, staring at a dead body, wondering whether or not you should _eat it_ or sell it to the corpse merchants? _Have you,_ Jean?" the firelight flickered off Eren, highlighting the unnerving stance the boy had.

"I wanted to _eat_ him, Jean. I wanted to eat that dead man. We were _starving_ \- everyone was starving- I would've only gotten a few coins from the corpse merchants, hardly enough to buy a piece of stale bread- but his body, it had so much meat on it. I wanted it so _badly,_ Jean."

Everyone, even Levi, was staring at Jager in horrified fascination, now, unable to move as they listened to the venomous words that came out of his mouth.

"I thought about what my mother would think of me, of her _son_ \- eating dead people." Eren's voice took on a more frantic intonation as he plowed onward. "We were so desperate though, there was no food- nothing. And I wondered what my mother would think, but then I realized it didn't matter, because she was _dead._ "

Eren threw his head back and laughed at the last part, frantic, hiccuping laughter bubbling past giggles that made everyone freeze. He released his hold on Jean's shirt, more laughter bubbling past the boy's lips- cheeks flushed red, glassy eyes immune to the looks of horror on nearly everyone's face.

"Eren." Mikasa's voice didn't hold it's usual strength- she was looking up at Eren, pleading for him to come back to reason.

Armin had curled into a ball and was sobbing quietly into his knees, having flashbacks to their days on the streets.

"You bastards don't know what hungry is." Eren growled, before a combat boot collided with his face and he hit the ground in a heap.

" _Eren!_ " Mikasa scrambled forward, voice taking on a frantic tone, her expression decidedly less schooled than usual.

 _"Akerman!"_ Levi's sharp voice startled her back to herself. "Relax. He's unconscious- I just knocked him out."

Mikasa nodded hesitantly, looking more like an uncertain little girl than a teenager, before she retreated back to sit closer to Armin, huddling around him quietly, looking more than uncomfortable to have their past brought to light in front of everyone like that.

Levi said nothing, dragging Jager's unconscious body over and patting the boy down, taking the rest of his knives off the boy before looking up.

Armin was still huddled up crying, while the rest of the 104th seemed to be either in shock on staring into the fire.

"Mikasa..." Christa spoke up quietly.

"Shut up. Everyone just... just shut up." Mikasa didn't look up from where she was huddled close to Armin, instead pulling her scarf up to hide her face. Hey eyes glistened as she stared off into the darkness, with unshed tears of shame and something unrecognizable.

"Everyone go to bed." Levi said, tone dull and unfeeling, as usual.

Still- he shot a glance over at the remaining two from Shingashina- Arlet seemed to have cried himself to sleep, and Akerman was blinking sleepily, curled up next to her blonde friend and looking close to sleep herself.

Levi looked over at Eren, who was beside him. He'd had an inkling the boy's past had been rough, but he'd never imagined Eren had been through that….

Still, there was nothing he could do for it, and with some difficulty, he laid down and fell asleep.

* * *

 

The hardest part was not being able to do much. Someone rekindled a small fire that morning, and the troop huddled around it, looking up at Levi with hollow eyes, waiting for direction.

Levi didn't have any orders for them except for to wait. The village had been abandoned for years, there was no food, and doing anything else would simply waste precious energy.

Eren wordlessly got up, gathering some of his knives in hand and nodding to Arlet, who'd stood as well, before they headed out towards some of the collapsed houses.

"What are they doing?" Reiner asked, looking after them, confused.

"Hunting. Armin can set snares, and Eren's good with a knife." Mikasa's glassy stare was far away as she spoke, her voice betraying no emotion.

The boys came back around noon, bearing a small stick of impaled rats with them.

Levi nodded to the boys calmly. "Skin them and cook them, and distribute them among your teammates."

Eren nodded, wordlessly setting to work, knife skillfully helping him remove the flesh from the creatures before he'd stabbed them, letting Armin cook them over the fire.

Four rats among eleven people didn't go far, but no one said anything as they split them up, picking the bodies clean of meat. No one complained, and as the Shiganshina trio set about digging into their own rodent, Eren looked up and scooted the bunch closer to Levi, nodding to the man.

Levi looked at Eren, cocking an eyebrow.

"You're the strongest out of all of us, Sir. We need you more than anyone." Eren said, handing Levi a bit of meat.

Levi said nothing, thanking the boy with his gaze before he took a bite.

All too soon the rats were picked clean. There was a small snapping sound of bones breaking, and the group looked up to find Eren had snapped the femur of the rat and hand put the bone to his lips, sucking out the marrow.

Armin and Mikasa were doing the same, and Levi realized it was a habit they'd had from the streets- making the most out of every meal.

Eren wordlessly handed Levi a bone, before turning back to getting the marrow out of his own.

Slowly, the silent camp was filled with the sound of snapping bones as the starving soldiers sucked the marrow out of the bones.

Finally, everything was quiet again as they sat in the rubble of the home they'd made their campsite, their hunger barely abated at all by the tiny meal.

"When do you think they'll come for us, Captain?" Jean asked, looking at Levi hopefully.

Levi shrugged. "They've realized something is wrong since we haven't returned. They've no doubt sent out aid…."

"So they could be here as soon as tonight?" Sasha asked, eyes alight with hope.

"Potentially, though I doubt it. If the titans on the route here are as thick as the ones outside these walls, we're in for a wait."

He watched the hope in their eyes dull, along with their alertness. Hunger and exposure was getting to everyone, and they were losing hope.

"What if Eren carried us?" Connie spoke up, looking hesitant. "I mean- if he went titan, and we were on his shoulders- couldn't he take us back?"

Eren had paled and was staring into the distance.

"No. Assuming Eren even could transform- the titans outside the wall would rip him apart. Not to mention we don't know which direction Eren's titan would run. And you're forgetting he's weak- we all are. We're not even sure how long he could maintain the titan."

"We can't just lay here and wait to die!" Jean exploded, frustrated.

"We're not- we're waiting on aid. At most, the corps will be two more days before they reach us. We can hold out."

"You keep saying that, but we can't! Christa's on the verge of fainting from hunger, water's running low, and we're eating fucking rats! We need to make a move before we're too weak to!"

"That's your opinion. Go ahead- make a move and get yourself killed, Kirstein. We'll bring your body back to your mother for you, assuming your teammates don't eat it first." Levi said calmly, voice daring the boy to make a move.

Jean looked around to see Christa on the verge of tears, Ymir huddled protectively around her, the entire troop looking up at him, concerned, and realized it- all they could do was wait.

He wordlessly sat back down, and the silence dragged on for precious minutes.

A chill wind blew- a reminder that, despite, the brief winter melt that'd cleared the snow- anything could happen.

The Shingashina trio remained huddled together, backs to the wind. Mikasa had let her hair down to keep her neck warm and removed her scarf, and they all had wrapped their hands in the red fabric.

The look of boredom on their faces, coupled with their comfort huddling together, let everyone in the squadron know that the three had face cold, hungry nights before, though no one spoke of it.

Eren and Armin stood at some point, bringing back a few more rats as they materialized from the falling darkness.

* * *

 

Three rats did nothing to sate the hunger that'd been kindling slowly like a fire for three days- in fact, it left them seeming more empty than before- only a bite or two of food to tide them over seemed more like a cruel taunt than a method of survival.

Sasha cried at some point, sobbing into Connie's shoulder.

Levi pitied the girl- he pitied all of them, to be honest. Even when he'd been on the streets, he'd never gone for days without food. At least, not since he'd turned five and learned to steal.

Eren looked over at the crying girl, expression nearly unreadable, before he turned back to Armin and Mikasa.

Nobody had spoken since morning- even the airy whispers from the Shingashina trio were inaudible to all but them, but as weakness and vertigo set in and the gnawing of hunger became unbearable, they were all beginning to realize their fate.

"C-Captain. They'll come for us soon, won't they?" Christa asked, voice wavering, tears running down her face. Everyone looked up at Levi except for the Shingashina three, dull eyes flickering with hope.

Levi couldn't bring himself to tell the girl the prognosis, so he nodded "They'll come."

"I-I h-h-hope they come soon…." Sasha said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Don't waste your breath." Eren said calmly, staring at the ground. "They'll come. Just go to sleep…."

"We can't fucking sleep! It hurts, dammit…." Ymir snapped.

"That's good. Once you stop feeling the hunger pains, then you're fucked. Stop wasting your energy." Mikasa looked over at them, dark eyes not exactly pitying them, but less intense than usual.

"Not all of us were street rats like you, you know." Reiner growled, voice low.

Mikasa's jaw clenched, but Eren laughed. "Betcha you'll die first, asshole. We might not be the most privileged of people- but who's been catching the rats you've been eating?"

Reiner mumbled some choice words, before, one by one, the group fell into an exhausted sleep.

Levi ignored the way the brats woke up in the night, some crying, some whimpering from hunger pains. He tried to, anyways.

He could feel the very same hunger tearing at his insides- a sensation wasn't unfamiliar, but one that wasn't welcomed.

He looked to his left, finding Jager laying on his side, glassy eyes staring at the dirt numbly.

The boy could feel Levi staring at him, though, and he looked up to meet the Captain's silver eyes, no emotion on his face.

Eren had felt it all before, Levi realized, when he saw the boy's fingers twitch and his jaw clench slightly as a vicious wave of hunger moved through him. Within two seconds, any trace of expression on the boy's face was gone, replaced with that blank, unnerving look.

Yes, Eren had done it all before. Still, the boy had put his faith in Levi, that much was clear when he nodded to Levi seriously, before his eyes fell closed and he curled up a little tighter, cloak doing the best it could to fend off the cold wind.

* * *

 

Their seventh day outside the walls was, to say the least, hell.

Most of the cadets had given up hope or were too weak to stand- some cried, some prayed, and some simply curled up, accepting whatever fate had to offer them.

At some point, Eren and Armin got up, returning with two dead rats and a re-filled water skin. Eren's hands were shaking too badly to rekindle the fire and cook the meat, so Mikasa did it.

Still, it was barely a small bite each when divided up among everyone, and many simply laid back down again when they were done eating, devoid of all hope.

"It takes longer than three days to starve." Armin piped up hoarsely. "W-we've gone five on absolutely nothing…."

Levi closed his eyes, not wanting to hear the information. While it was oddly comforting, he didn't find any comfort in knowing what the cadets had suffered as children.

There was the muffled sound of weeping, as Cadets lost what little faith they'd had, and waited for either unconsciousness or the titans to take them. Whichever came first.

It was just before dusk when Eren squinted up at the sky, staring. "Armin. D-do you see that?"

Armin nodded, pale face growing frantic. "Smoke. A flare! Someone get me a flare!"

Mikasa crawled over to her bag, tossing Armin a round. The blonde fumbled with his flare gun, the metal clanking as he fumbled with shaking hands, before he raised it in the air, firing off the round….

Within half an hour, the pounding of horse's hooves could be heard, and Eren fumbled to load another round into the gun and fire it off.

"Up- _everyone_ _who_ _wants_ _to_ _get_ _out_ _of_ _here_ _alive_ , _get_ _on your_ _fucking_ _feet_! They need to see where we are!" Eren barked.

Everyone moved to stand- Ymir was supporting Christa, Connie and Sasha both wobbling together, while Eren offered Levi a hand up.

"They brought wagons…." Sasha spoke up, awestruck at the notion of food. Some were crying, some hugging, others looking up at the sky with grateful expressions on their faces.

Erwin dismounted his horse, striding over to the group. The squadron looked, for lack of a better world, like hell. Gaunt, haggard faces, pale skin smeared with dirt, they looked up at the Commander like awestruck children, some with barely enough strength to stand...

Erwin strode over to Levi, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. Levi, despite his own weakness, forced himself to walk beside the Commander. He'd give his report and be given rations and allowed to rest for a bit afterwards, he had no doubt.

"How did you last this long?" Erwin asked, looking both surprised and amazed.

"We managed." Levi said hoarsely, looking at his Commander with heavy circles beneath his eyes. "Though they were starting to loose hope. We wouldn't have lasted another two days."

Erwin nodded, looking over to the wagons. Sasha was crying over a loaf of bread- normally, it would've been humorous, but this time, it was just heartbreaking. Several other cadets were sniffing and scrubbing at their eyes as they looked down at the rations they'd been given, and Ymir was trying to force Christa to eat both their portions, arguing the petite blonde needed it more.

"How did the cadets handle it?" Erwin asked, wondering if the training gone t hell would have any long-term effects.

"They struggled. Everyone accept Jager, Akerman, and Arlet were fine. We found out on the fifth night in that they'd endured starvation before. They ate the maggots that were in the bread... Jager had an episode of sorts... Apparently they were on the streets during the famine- they've come close to starving before."

Erwin looked over to see the Shingashina trio sitting a fair distance away from the others, rations in hand. They had a mug of broth set before them, and they took turns dunking the hard bread into it and tearing off chunks. They each had a far-off look in their eyes, as though they weren't all there, though occasionally, they'd lock eyes with one another and smiled.

Despite their hunger, they took slow, measured bites- they knew from experience that if they ate too quickly, they'd vomit.

"Those three have been through hell." Levi said by way of explanation.

"Eren and Armin were trapping rats in the rubble and cooking them for us. It's probably what got us this far to be honest."

Erwin nodded, still looking at the three, concerned.

"I wouldn't bring it up, if I were you- Arlet cries whenever you do, and it even rattles Akerman, while Jager goes on a rampage of sorts..." Levi advised.

Erwin sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks. "Those kids have been through so much..." he stated lamely, looking at them with a mixture of amazement and unease.

"Erwin- they stopped being children a long time ago."

Erwin looked over at the three, watching them chew measured bites, sitting close to one another and watching the scene around them as they did so, watching one another's backs. And he realized that any childhood these three had had had ended years ago.

That simple fact just might make or break all three of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely love all your feedback and kudos! :)


	13. Boys Will be Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Armin get in a little spat, and everyone realizes that Armin isn't exactly a complete pacifist. Brotherly love wins out, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- so I figured that, since Armin and Eren have been almost like brothers, they have to fight at some point. Armin does fight physically, here, but Eren's own concern for Armin, due to Armin's weakness, proves to be his undoing. Mikasa isn't really present much here, and she just lets the boys fight it out- she's used to it, and well... boys will be boys!
> 
> Anyways, it's a little fluffy bit here it is! :)

"Eren stop it!" Armin shouted, small face flushed as he glared up at Eren, his lips turned down and face scowling at the taller boy.

Eren laughed, simply holding the green cloak higher out of the boy's reach.

"Gee Armin, your temper is almost as short as you are!" he chuckled, green eyes sparkling as he teased the younger boy.

"Eren!" Armin snapped, voice sharp. Today was uniform inspection day, and Armin had been trying to get his cloak from Eren for the past five minutes. The Commander would be here any minute, and he didn't want to get in trouble over Eren's messing around.

"Maybe you should go get a stool, Armin." Eren chided as Armin struggled, join in the air futility, his fingertips still a few inches shy of grasping his cloak.

"Argh!" Armin snapped, bringing up his boot and stomping on Eren's foot. Eren gave a yelp of surprise and Armin grabbed his shoulders, kneeing the boy in the gut and doubling him over. Eren gasped, surprised, the wind knocked out of him, and Armin's cloak fell out of his hands, fluttering down to land on Armin's boots.

Armin wordlessly shoved Eren, swiping his cloak up from the ground and putting it on, red-cheeked and panting slightly.

"A-armin, what the hell!?" Eren demanded, clutching his abdomen, eyes burning. "I was just kidding around!"

"Well you can mess around when it isn't uniform inspection day, godammit!" Armin shouted right back. The squad was staring, shocked to see Armin and Eren actually fighting ….

"How was I supposed to know it was uniform inspection day!?"

"Maybe if you listened for once you'd actually learn something, you idiot!"

Eren swung at Armin, then, losing his temper. Armin was prepared, however, vaulting backwards, out of the way of the fist, before he lunged forward, his fist catching Eren just below the ribs.

Eren wheezed from the blow but stepped forward anyways, putting Armin in a headlock. Armin struggled fruitlessly for one moment, two… before going completely limp.

"Armin? You alright, buddy?" Eren rasped, alarmed at Armin stillness. He let Armin go, turning the boy and holding him by the shoulders so he was facing him. Armin pitched forward, apparently unconscious, and Eren struggled to keep him upright.

"Armin! Say something!" Eren cried, sounding close to frantic.

Armin eyes flew open, then, and he lunged forward, shoving Eren backwards.

Armin managed to get the startled boy to the rain barrel and, despite their size difference, Armin forced Eren's head beneath the water. Eren thrashed and struggled fruitlessly, and Armin pulled the boy out by his hair once he'd nearly ceased thrashing, dropping the wet boy onto the dirt and straddling him, getting in his face.

"Don't fuck with my uniform!" He shouted, chest heaving from exertion, cheeks red.

Armin got to his feet to see Captain Levi and Commander Erwin standing in the yard- they'd seen the entire fight, and were staring at Armin, amazed.

"What the meaning of this?" Erwin asked, looking both surprised and concerned.

"Eren was being an asshole, Sir." Armin replied respectfully.

"Tell me something I don't know." Levi muttered, looking down at Eren, amused. Eren scrambled to his feet, cheeks red with embarrassment, before both boys were back in line and carrying out their morning drills and duties.

Everyone was slightly wary of Eren and Armin, though Mikasa treated the two normally.

Lunch hour rolled around, and Eren wordlessly sat down between Mikasa and Armin, mess kit in hand. Armin looked over at him warily- they clearly weren't over this mornings fight.

"Hey- Armin." Eren spoke quietly.

"Hm?" Armin looked over at him curiously, blue eyes still wary.

"I… uh… I'm sorry I was such a jerk this morning. And I got a sugar cookie with my mess kit, and I know they're your favorite, so, uh… forgiven?" Eren was blushing slightly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he set the sugar cookie on Armin's plate.

Armin nodded, smiling slightly. "That seems fair. You're forgiven." Armin took a bite of the cookie and smiled, showing his goodwill, and Eren grinned as well, glad to have made up with his friend.

"Hey Armin- I thought you were a pacifist." Jean piped up from the next table over.

Armin swallowed his bite of cookie before grinning at Jean. "I make an exception for assholes." he explained cheerily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! :)


	14. ErenXMikasa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First off, a big thanks to MsJody13 for motivating me to get off my butt and post this.
> 
> Now, onto the summary.
> 
> I wanted to write a Mikasa chapter, since I'd done an Armin one and I always write Eren. It was meant to be a character-development chapter, but it turned into heavy brother/sister bonding/ EreMika. It honestly depends on what you ship, but I feel like ti leans a little closer to EreMika, personally. I didn't meant to make this one of my ship chapters, but oops, I did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Don't like, don't read. If you don't wanna read about this pairing, you can just skip the chapter or read it and omit it from this story's official plot. None of these chapters that contain a pairing are critical to the plot. Anyways, here it is. Please comment!***

_"Where. Is. It?"_ Mikasa demanded between clenched teeth, lifting Jean off the floor and pinning his back against the wall. Her raven hair had fallen over her eyes, her shoulders heaved with every breath she took, and she looked ready to kill.

"I-I was just kidding around…."

_"Give it to me."_

Jean nodded dumbly, frantically reaching within his coat and drawing it out, hand over hand. Mikasa snatched the bundle of warm red fabric from him in an instant before she dropped him, blood erupting from his nose as her knuckles made contact with his face.

He staggered, clutching the wall desperately and nearly falling.

"You're lucky that's all I'll do to you." Mikasa turned, bundle of red fabric still clutched close to her chest with one hand, before she stalked out of the dining hall.

"I told you not to, Jean…." Armin was speaking hurriedly, helping his squad mate to his feet and trying to help with his bloody nose.

"I-it was just a _scarf_ …."

"Not to Mikasa it isn't. I told you not to touch it…."

"It's a beat to hell piece of cloth. What the hell is so important about it?" Jean demanded, frustrated.

"It's not my story to tell, Jean…. Just… don;t mess with her scarf, okay?" Armin said hesitantly.

Nobody except Armin had noticed Eren excuse himself from the dining hall, finding Mikasa standing in the grass out front, the moonlight lighting his path. For some reason, he was the only one Mikasa could stand when she was truly angry.

He picked his way across the grass to stand beside her- she had the scarf resting in both hands, limp fabric fluttering slightly in the night breeze as she stared up at the night.

Eren stood with her in silence for a moment before he spoke. "You alright?"

Mikasa looked down at the scarf in her hands sadly. "He soiled it."

"He what?"

"He soiled my scarf. It doesn't smell like you anymore- it smells like that filthy cologne he wears." Mikasa wrinkled her nose in disgust, before her features crumpled into disappointment.

Eren sighed- he really had no idea why Mikasa loved that scarf so much- but if it'd make her happy, he'd do it. He plucked the article of clothing from her hands, closing his eyes and mouth and rubbing his face vigorously over the fabric.

Mikasa watched, lips parting in surprise- he mused his hair with it, rubbed his face with it, made sure every inch of it touched his skin- before holding it back out to her, hair staticky from rubbing. "Better?" he asked, offering her a small smile.

Mikasa nodded wordlessly- it smelled like Eren again. She wordlessly wrapped it around her neck, basking in the familiar scent.

Eren smiled when he watched her eyes close with contentment. He chuckled slightly. "I don't know why you love that old thing so much, Mikasa." he admitted, lips quirking into a cheeky grin. "By the way- what do I smell like?" he asked jokingly.

"Home. You smell like home." Mikasa said without a moment's hesitation, and the certainty of her answer stopped Eren in his tracks.

"You really think so, huh?"

Mikasa nodded, rubbing the worn fabric between her fingers. "It's why I wear it- it reminds me of you, Eren."

Arms wrapped around her, just like they had all those years ago in the woods, when she'd been cold and alone….

She looked over, both surprised and pleased, and she melted into his touch, curling against his chest and tucking her head beneath his chin, feeling his heart beat thrum against her body.

"Why do you need a reminder? I'm right here, and I always will be."

Mikasa simply let out a contented sigh, praying for the rare moment of affection to never stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short? Yes. Shorter than Captain Levi, perhaps- we may never know.
> 
> Anyways, I'd love reviews with requests. I have a lot of ideas, but I have to hash out the chronology in which I plan to execute them, and I'd love to get some feedback on what you guys are hoping to see. Please review and request! :D


	15. Tradition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is introduced to a Shinganshina tradition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thnis has tgo be one of my favorite chapters in the fic. That is all.

The door of the mess hall slammed open, banging against the wall behind it noisily, and a variety of troops from the 104th stumbled in. They'd made a makeshift chair- two soldiers were gripping beneath Eren's thighs, slinging their arms over each other's shoulders to make a back of their human chair to hold the injured soldier up.

That was a surprise in itself, as the 104th had a rare day off- Levi had expected them not to step foot in the castle for fear of being roped into work.

"Medic! We need a medic over here!" Bertholdt shouted frantically, sweat beading on his brow.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jean!?" Connie demanded, looking at Eren's bloodied face.

"I didn't think it'd hurt him that bad!" Jean protested, looking both angry and frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Both of you shut up! MEDIC, we need a freaking medic over here!" Reiner cried.

It seemed to shake the breakfast hall from their slumber, and Levi abandoned his tea cup without using a coaster, trotting over to the group to see none other than Eren Jager being held up by his teammates, face absolutely covered in blood.

The boy's eye was swelling, his nose was crooked, probably broken, and from his nose down, his chin and lips were drenched in blood. He coughed, blood bubbling past his lips, swaying dangerously and falling forward onto the floor on all fours.

Levi's eyes widened, and he was instantly on one knee, forcing Eren to hold his head up so he didn't choke on his own blood.

"Erwin, where the hell is the medic!?" he demanded, voice sharp. It didn't betray the concern he felt. Eren turned to look over at him, glassy eyes amused. "I-it was the fruitcake, Sir." was all he muttered, coughing once before he slumped forward, unconscious.

"Shit." Levi caught the boy, moving to sling the larger boy over his shoulder, blood stains on his uniform be damned.

"All of you- remain for questioning. Mike, handle them…." Levi ordered the squad leader, who nodded, before Levi was gone.

Levi laid the boy on a bed in the infirmary, propping him up with pillows and moving to wipe the blood away from his face. Jager didn't look half as bad with the blood taken care of- his nose had been broken and bleeding quite a bit, and his lip was swollen and puffy, along with his left eye.

"How did Jean manage to do all this to you?" Levi muttered, surprised. He'd known Jager and Kirstein hated one another, but still- Jean being able to do all this to Jager without the boy even getting a blow in was nearly impossible. And Jager wasn't answering him, because he was unconscious and probably had a concussion.

There was a cacophony of footsteps in the hallway, then, and Levi looked up to see the majority of the 104th in the doorway, peering into the room anxiously.

Levi wordlessly stood, wet rag falling from his hand and face taking on a stern expression. "Care to explain how this happened?" he demanded, eyes narrowing. While Jager would probably heal quickly due to his abilities, the fact remained that someone had done this to the boy- whoever it was deserved to be punished.

"Jean did it, Sir!" Sasha said hurriedly.

"Yeah- you didn't even give him a chance, you just nailed him in the face with it." Connie said sourly, shoving Jean forward. Berthold and Reiner stood at the back, arms crossed, while Christa was peering in at Eren, looking concerned, with Historia beside her.

Levi crossed his arms, glowering up at the cadet. "You have five seconds to explain yourself, Kirstein."

"I didn't know it'd hurt him that bad!" Jean burst out, near frantic at the thought of being punished by Captain Levi.

"How does whipping a fruitcake at someone's face not hurt them?" Ymir asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't think it was like a brick! If I knew it'd hurt him this bad, I swear I never would've threw it…."

Levi frowned. "What does a fruitcake have to do with any of this?"

"Jean threw a fruitcake at Eren, Sir. That's how he got all beat up." Connie supplied helpfully.

Levi opened his mouth for a split second. "Where the hell did you lot even get a fruitcake?"

"Mikasa made it for Christmas, Sir." Reiner said calmly.

Levi's frown deepened for a moment, forehead crinkling in confusion. "Where the hell is Akerman, then? And- where's Arlet?"

"Outside, Sir."

Levi wordlessly crossed the room, looking out the window. Sure enough, Akerman and Arlet was just outside the window, sitting cross-legged, side by side about forty feet below them in the castle yard. Arlet was holding something I'm his lap that looked suspiciously like a fruitcake.

Levi turned, sighing, before looking at Jean. "Why? Who the fuck just throws a fruitcake at somebody?"

"They threw it first, Sir! They were tossing it around and singing- something about a tradition of destroying the damn thing- and Jager tossed it at me and told me to throw it back, so I did…."

"You lobbed it at his face." Reiner said, looking unamused.

"I didn't expect it'd do that to him!" Jean protested, motioning to the beat-up boy lying on the bed.

"And besides- is nobody going to question why they have a tradition devoted to destroying a fruitcake?"

"Kirstein- clean the boy's shower rooms. Now." Levi ordered, tone showing he wasn't to be trifled with. Jean's shoulders slumped, and he turned, defeated, to complete his punishment.

"As for the rest of you- report to training at normal time." Levi said, sighing. Slowly, the 104th dispersed, leaving Levi alone in the room with an unconscious Jager.

Erwin quietly stepped into the deserted room, looking at Levi with concern. "Mike said you got an incident report. How is he?"

"He'll be alright." Levi looked over to see the steam starting to trickle from Jager's ears, meaning the boy was beginning to heal. He looked over at Erwin mournfully. "Idiots. I'm surrounded by fucking idiots…." was all he muttered, before he threw himself into a chair beside Jager's bed, trying to come to terms with the fact that his entire squad consisted of morons.

Erwin tried to hide his smile- he hadn't been told personally what'd caused the boy's injury, but judging how Jean was now furiously cleaning the showerings, and Mikasa and Armin were camped outside the window with a fruitcake in their lap- he was more than looking forward to reading the incident report tomorrow.

* * *

 

It was two hours later when Levi heard Eren groan. He'd managed to re-set the boy's broken nose, and Eren's face was looking much better- the swelling in his eye and lip had gone down significantly, and steam had stopped coming from his ears, meaning his concussion was most likely healed.

Green eyes fluttered open top find Levi standing at the foot of his bed, scrutinizing him, arms crossed over his chest.

"What day is it, Jager?"

"Wed- fruitcake day!" Eren sat bolt upright, looking shocked. "I-it's fruitcake day. Captain- what happened?"

"Kirstein managed to knock you out by throwing a fruitcake at your face."

Eren nodded, chewing the information over for a moment, before he looked horrified. "Did they do it without me?" He mumbled, stumbling over to the window anxiously.

He looked down into the yard anxiously to see Mikasa and Armin dutifully waiting for him, sitting Indian style in the grass. When Mikasa saw his face in the window she pointed, and Armin grinned, lifting the fruitcake above his head in triumph, before Eren was fumbling down the stairs, off to participate in some weird ass tradition.

Said tradition, as it turned out, was as weird as it sounded. Levi looked into the castle yard at one point to see the brats had assembled a baseball team of sorts- only the fruitcake was being used as the ball and the god forsaken pastry barely flew at all since it was dense as a brick.

There were alarmed shouts from the training field at one point and Levi peered out his office window to see Jager running for his life, fruitcake in hands. He didn't know what'd happened, but he'd clearly hear about it at dinner.

At some point, the three must've simply chucked the thing off the castle roof, as the pastry came sailing past Levi's window in a downward descent later that day. But judging by the signs of mayhem outside- the fruitcake was still very much alive.

At dinner, Squad Leader Mike frowned as he reported to Levi. "They tried to have the horses trample the cake and derailed the entire exercise, Sir."

Levi nodded, hiding his amusement. "I'll speak to him…."

"Speak of the devil." Hanji spoke up, nodding towards the door. Three very muddy cadets were striding into the mess hall from the cold January night- one was Jager, who had the perfectly intact fruitcake under his arm.

"Yeah, Armin, I thought the wagon's wheels would totally destroy it- I guess we underestimated this thing." Eren said, patting the fruitcake absently.

Mikasa wordlessly nodded, and the cloaked three strode over to the blazing hearth, still talking if the day's escapades, as Eren casually hucked the fruitcake into the fire.

The fire roared for a brief moment, before the air was filled with the sweet aroma of burning sugar filled the air. Gradually, the fruitcake charred black, curling inward on itself, as it began to burn itself into ash.

Eren grinned slightly, inhaling the scent. "Well, glad that's over. Good job, Mikasa- this one was even more resilient than last year."

Mikasa nodded once in agreement, and Armin was busy smelling the sweet aroma of burning pastry to say anything.

Mike's eyes widened. "Fruitcakes burn?" he asked, shocked by both the unexpected turn and the shockingly sweet aroma in the air.

Eren nodded, smiling. "Sure do."

"Why didn't you burn it EARLIER, instead of wasting the whole freaking day!?"

Eren looked shocked. "Because- it's tradition. You have to try everything to destroy it, but if it's still intact by dark you have to burn it."

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"It's a tradition, Sir- it's not supposed to make sense." Eren said, grinning, before he excused himself, heading back out with his friends.

Mike simply stared after the trio, slackjawed. "Those three are the weirdest cadets I've ever seen…." he admitted finally.

Levi scoffed. "Says the man who sniffs everything he comes into contact with." he muttered, taking a sip of his tea and smiling slightly while his lips were covered by the sweet liquid. While he'd agree the brats were weird- they were damn entertaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment your thoughts and/or favorite parts! I love to hear your opinions! :)


	16. Side Effects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are certain commonsense side effects of being able to turn into a titan that Levi learns to account for in his youngest squad member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this would be a cute addition to the fic. Please comment! I love feedback!

There were certain… side effects… to turning into a titan that nobody had really expected. but then again- there were a lot of things they didn't expect when it came to Eren.

There were several side effects to turning into a titan- one being extreme fatigue, which often led to unconsciousness, once he was removed from his titan body. The rest, though- nobody had seen it coming.

Hanji had wanted to know how much Eren could exert himself in his titan form before he reached the limit of his endurance. Eren managed some amazing feets- running into the distance until he was almost out of sight, just a small form in the distance, before coming back. But even titans had their breaking point.

At some point Eren's knees buckled, as Hanji had him trying to uproot a massive tree from the forest, one so big he had to wrap both arms around it.

He hit the ground in a rush, falling onto his knees, then plunging forward to land on his stomach.

"Is he done?" Hanji blinked, looking over at him, surprised.

Levi frowned, squinting for a moment. "Why isn't he coming out?"

It was at that exact moment the body started to steam.

Hanji shouted something, but Levi didn't catch it- he was already engaging his 3DMG, flying through the air. He landed on the titan's back, raising his blade and striking, before he was pulling the bloodied Jager out, slinging him over his shoulder, making it off the massive body just as the flesh started to melt off the ribcage.

"Eren, what happened? Eren?" Hanji looked surprised to see Eren was completely limp in Levi's arms. Her expression quickly changed from one of puzzlement to one of alarm. "Levi!? Is he even breathing!?"

"Yeah, he's breathing." Levi grunted, laying the boy on the grass. Eren's face was marked, as it always was, when he emerged from his titan- only this time, he wasn't responding or really even moving….

"Oi. Eren. Can you hear me?" Levi shook the boy lightly.

Eren made no move in response. He looked almost… peaceful… laying on the grass on his back, chest rising up and down rhythmically, eyes closed….

"Damn brat's sleeping." Levi muttered, fighting the smile tugging at his lips.

"Wha?" Hanji looked amazed, grabbing Eren's wrist to take his pulse. It was slow and even, just like his breathing, and Eren twitched slightly as a butterfly landed on his nose….

"He's sleeping really deeply." Hanji noted, looking surprised. "It might be… some sort of healing mechanism?"

"Doesn't really matter what it is, shitty glasses- all it means is we're done for today." Levi said, hefting Eren up and grabbing the boy beneath the thighs on either side, hoisting him so he was riding piggy-back as they trooped back towards the horses.

Levi rode back with Eren in his saddle, watching, amused, as the boy slumped forward across the back of the horse, flopping and jostling bonelessly with every motion of the horse but not waking.

Needless to say, people were slightly alarmed to see Levi dragging an unconscious titan shifter through the castle by his foot.

Mikasa charged around the corner, glaring at Levi with the burning hatred of a thousand suns. "What did you do to him!?"

"I didn't do anything- Jager here decided he wanted to hibernate." Levi said boredly, before he was continuing to drag Eren down the hall.

Hanji was nearly frothing at the mouth, babbling about some sort of healing trance, and Levi simply ignored them both, throwing Eren onto a bed in the infirmary before going about his daily business.

Occasionally, his mind wandered to Eren- he was surprised when the boy didn't wake up for lunch, and a bit alarmed when he showed no signs of waking up for dinner- and he found himself camping out beside Jager's bed that evening, doing paperwork by candlelight and looking over at the deeply slumbering titan shifter with concern.

Everyone in the castle had heard about Eren's condition by now, and while the cadets had jokingly dubbed him 'sleeping beauty', there was underlying concern that Eren's condition might go from this hibernation of sorts into something more serious- like crystallization.

Levi had no idea what he'd do if the brat suddenly did start to surround himself in crystal, but he'd be here to at least yell at him for it. That was how he rationalized it, anyways. Truthfully, he wanted to make sure the brat didn't die in his sleep or something, since honestly- no one had any idea what had happened to the boy to cause this.

Anyhow- Levi happened to be there, signing papers, when Eren's breathing stopped it's steady rhythm for a moment.

Levi looked over for a moment, surprised at the disturbance, only to see Eren aware and blinking cloudy eyes and looking around him, confused.

"I see you've finally decided to wake the hell up." Levi said, waiting for a response.

Eren blinked sluggishly once, twice, before his eyes focused in. "C-captain? What happened?" he sat up hesitantly, looking around, surprised.

"You over-exerted yourself in your titan form. You've been asleep for hours."

"O-oh." Eren stretched and spoke, mid-yawn, before looking over at Levi, still half-there. "What time is it?"

"It's the middle of the night." Levi nodded towards the window, outside where the blackness covered everything.

"Oh." Eren blinked, surprised at the discovery, before nodding. "I-I guess I'll just go back to sleep, then."

Levi was slightly surprised that Jager could think of something so logical, so he simply nodded, watching Jager's eyes fall closed and his breathing even out his he fell into a more fitful, less deep slumber.

After exerting himself in titan form, if Eren wasn't exhausted enough to fall unconscious- he fell into a sort of hibernation. It was weird as fuck, but there was nothing Levi could do about it.

* * *

 

"You feeling okay?" Levi asked, noticing how Eren stumbled slightly.

Eren looked up, surprised- his face was pale, save for the unnatural flush of his cheeks, and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. Shifting had taken a toll out of him today.

Eren stumbled again, barely catching himself, before he nodded. "I'm… f-fine…." he stuttered out. It was a miracle the boy made it to the mess hall without falling on his face, and though Levi said nothing, he made sure to keep Eren close by him. Eren staggered over to the table, nearly falling over. He nearly laid his head down on the table, but someone slid him a bowl of grub- Eren grabbed a spoon and dug at at near fever-pitch, shoveling his food into his mouth like no tomorrow.

The table mates all stared, Levi included, surprised for a brief moment. Nobody really dared eat so messily at the table with Levi, but Eren had already polished off his first bowl in a minute, before Petra hesitantly handed him another serving.

"Let him eat. He's done a lot of shifting today." Levi said simply, excusing the boy's behavior.

Eren heard nothing, instead continuing to eat.

By the end of the meal he'd polished off four bowls, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and laid his head on the table, content.

"Eren- you good?" Eld asked good naturedly, smiling.

"Mhhhm…." Eren said nothing, smiling contently.

"This is fascinating! I take it he expends more energy as a titan, so he has to eat more to recoup. Absolutely brilliant!" Hanji slammed her hands on the table, rattling dishes, excited.

"So I take it the kid gets extra rations now?" Auruo asked warily, looking curious.

Levi wordlessly nodded. He was willing to excuse Eren's messiness due to his condition. Besides- at least when Eren was eating, he wasn't sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! It makes me update sooner. :)


	17. ErenXArmin (non-graphic Yaoi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the title sayss- ErenXArmin. If you don;t like the ship, then feel free to just skip this chapter, since it's not really relevant to the plot in any way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, you wonderful people you! After struggling with ideas for awhile, I decided to write this- the Eremin chapter NOBODY ASKED FOR, but that I fucking wrote anyways, because I wanted to!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter, like all my ship chapters, isn't plot relevant at all. If you don't like ErenxArmin, don't read it- or if you ship Eremika or something, read this and just delete it from your mind. Whatever you want to be cannon is cannon in this.
> 
> I'm considering executing one of my major story arcs in this fic soon, but it's heavily Eren-centric, so I'm not certain as to if you guys will like it or not. So please give me some feedback on what you wanna see next! Finally- please comment- I love you guys lots, and all your comments inspire me! Your thoughts are absolutely gorgeous! :)

It was a simple training exercise in preparation for actual camping situations outside the walls. This example was relatively simple, compared to the more advanced simulations they'd be doing, but they had to start somewhere.

Which, in this case, meant camping out in the front yard of the castle, pitching tents, posting guards, and sleeping.

Eren had been given orders to share a tent with Erwin, guards were posted, and everything had settled into a relatively quiet evening.

Levi woke up to the flap of his tent rustling open at around midnight. He blinked, giving his eyes a moment to adjust before being able to recognize Erwin peering in at him.

"Need something?" he asked, straight to the point.

"Eren left my tent. I wondered if he'd wandered into your by mistake…." the tents _were_ right next to one another, and Levi shook his head, getting to his feet. "Haven't seen him." he rose, stepping out into the night with Erwin and stretching, starting to walk.

"Well? Are we going to look for the brat or not?"

Erwin nodded, slightly surprised Levi was so matter-of-fact about the situation. Little did he know, since claiming responsibility for the brat, Levi had had to deal with Eren and his shenanigans many, _many_ times.

"You're sure he isn't just out taking a shit?" Levi asked bemusedly, lighting a lantern as they begin their quiet troop through the night.

Erwin shrugs. "I'd assume he would've informed me…."

Levi smirks. "Never. He's not a dog, and he flat out refuses to ask permission to relieve himself. Would you really want him to ask you for that? Do you get off to that, Erwin?" Levi wrinkles his nose and looks back from where he'd holding the lantern, a teasing smirking on his face.

Erwin rolls his eyes at the jests. He's tired and apprehensive and he just wants to find Jager, so he doesn't have to write out an incident report.

The first place they check are the latrines, as it seems logical. They're empty, and Erwin frowns-= now he's really starting to get concerned. He opens his mouth to say something as they exit the latrines, only to fall silent when Levi raises a hand.

Erwin frowns. "What?" he whispers, baffled as to what Levi's standing still for.

"Can't you hear it?" Levi asks, looking back at his superior and friend, frustrated.

Erwin shakes his head.

"In the woods to the right- you can hear the leaves rustling…."

Erwin is striding forward, then, his own lantern raised and piercing into the night. He listens- slowly, he can made out the sound of the dead leaves carpeting the forest floor moving, It gets louder as they get closer, with muffled whispers and grunts as well. Erwin pinpoints the sounds as coming from behind a large boulder in the forest, and he walks around the rockface to nearly trip over two cadets.

The sudden light illuminating everything is startling to the two behind the bolder, and Eren turns and blinks for a moment, surprised….

"Commander. I'll return to the tent shortly." Eren forces out, voice husky.

Erwin's eyes widen slightly as he looks down. both boys are completely naked, with a small blond pinned beneath Jager panting heavily. Both boys are soaked in a sheen of sweat, but Eren looks remarkably put together as he looks up at the Commander for a split second, before the cadet below him- Armin, that's his name- makes a breathy noise and the boy is turning back to him.

"Eren." Erwin's voice is firm.

" _What,_ commander!?" Eren fairly growls up at the older man, teeth bared, eyes burning with frustration and lust. It's clear the only thing he wants to do is continue with the boy beneath him.

Levi stares at his boots from where he holds his lantern, not really looking at the boy's before him. "Erwin. We should go. He's fine…."

"No. he's not fine!" Erwin barks. "For one thing, he's in a situation here- if he gets bitten he could transform. Eren- is this even consensual?" Erwin's blue grey eyes flash dangerously as he looks down- knowing how dominant Jager is, he doubts the boy had much choice in the matter.

Eren's startled when Armin opens his eyes, revealing cerulean blue orbs clouded with lust, and moans. " _E-Eren…."_ he pants breathily. "" _E-eren, PLEASE…."_

Eren looks down for a moment, shocked. "I will, Armin, I swear-" Eren's voice takes on a surprisingly gentle tone, .before he looks up, actually snarling at the Commander An animalistic look comes over the boy, and Erwin steps back, only to feel Levi's hand on his forearm, eyes still on the ground, guiding him away.

"Looks pretty consensual to me, Commander. You've fulfilled your obligation- now quit gawking and let's go." he keeps his voice low as he speaks, smirking and adding "Unless you _like_ watching the brats go at it." his silver eyes are suggestive, and Erwin feels so awkward it's all he can do to keep looking at the ground.

"That was…."

"To be expected." Levi says, not sounding bothered at all that they've found two cadets fucking each other's brains out. "Jager is fifteen- a horny teenager. And his best friend, the blond, is also a horny teenager…." Levi sighs, taking in Erwin's shocked expression. "You seriously didn't expect this?"

Erwin shakes his head as they trudge towards the exit of the woods, looking upset. "T-they weren't even _embarrassed._ I'd expect it from Eren, the bluntness, but the blond-"

"Armin." Levi amends quietly.

"He didn't even care that we were there! He was shameless, moaning and panting…."

"They don't care. They want to get off, and they'll do it whether you're watching or not. Armin is usually a little more bashful, but once he's reached that point, his brain is basically jello- he stops caring when Eren starts to undo him and just does what he wants…."

"How do you know this?" Erwin asks, though he suspects that he might not want to know the answer to that question.

Levi shrugs. "Have you heard the rumors about the dungeon?"

Erwin nods.

Levi smirks. "It isn't really haunted. Those moans are from anything but the dead…."

"Jesus Christ." Erwin pinches the bridge of his nose, fighting the urge to blush. "So they've been…?"

Levi nods. "Of course. I just make sure they get extra… health… supplies in their supply kits each month so they're safe…."

"How does this not bother you?" Erwin asks, truly baffled as to how Levi can be so casual.

Levi shrugs. "You think they're the only ones? My squadron is full of teenagers- it happens more frequently than you'd think. I knock on every door before I walk in. They're going to fuck like rabbits regardless- I just have to make sure they have supplies to do it safely and that it doesn't interfere with training."

Erwin looks over at Levi, absolutely shocked and horrified.

"Teenagers these days…."

Levi throws back his head and laughs. "You innocent bastard." he manages around chuckles, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "You think this is new? It happened ALL THE TIME when we were cadets, too…."

Erwin stops walking and his eyes widen. LEvi bursts out laughing at the look on his face before he keeps walking, making a mental note to remember that Erwin is incredibly innocent and awkward (seeing as he never got in on the action during their cadet days), and a virgin.

* * *

Erwin settles himself in his tent again and waits- twenty minutes later, somebody is stumbling past, and they come back a few minutes later, clumsily unzipping the tent flap and falling inside. Eren Jager, still sweaty but at least clothed, falls onto his bedding, turning to face the wall of the tent and curling up, almost immediately asleep.

Erwin simply stares at the tent ceiling, trying to forget what he's seen.

* * *

Morning dawns bright and early for the scouting legion, as always. The orange sunbeams have just started to burn the dew off the grass as everyone rises to begin their day.

Morning is even longer for Erwin, who hasn't slept a damn wink that night, instead contemplating how many normal situations he's walked into, oblivious that his somewhat jumpy officers were engaging in sexual contact moments before….

He cringes internally, curls into a ball inside the tent, and prays for death to take him.

Breakfast is surprisingly unawkward. Levi nods a greeting to the boys, as always, and Eren digs into his morning rations with fervor, pausing mid-bite to cast smiles over at Armin, which suddenly take on an entirely new meaning when Erwin recalls last night.

Both boys finish eating, and Eren smiles, snatching Armin's empty plate away from him and stacking in on his own. "I'll get it." he says, and Armin smiles thankfully. Eren's fingers brush over the back of Armin's hand for a brief moment before he's off to dispose of both their dishes.

"So- how'd everyone sleep last night?" Levi asks his squad, expression surprisingly serious. "I slept fine, Sir." Armin supplies. Eren nods his agreement, the ghost of a smile on his lips. Reiner smirks, and Bertholdt sweats nervously- Erwin is suddenly privy to the fact that Eren and Armin weren't the only ones enjoying eachother's company last night and turns away.

"I slept well, Sir." Mikasa supplied duly.

"I slept terrible!" Sasha bursts out. "We were sleeping closest to the woods- I swear some huge animal was out there last night…."

"Ghosts! So many ghosts!" Connie is shaking, looking terrified. "I could hear them moaning all night… I swear, this whole place is haunted!"

Levi can't help but look away to hide his smirk as he ignores the comment, before he's looking back at his squad seriously. "Assemble for training by seven sharp."

Erwin simply lowers his gaze, staring into his mug of coffee, and resolves to never share a tent with a teenager, or leave his tent at night, more that matter- ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So- did ya like it? O.O
> 
> Also, please comment with your feelings about the next few chapters being part of a major story arc and containing mostly Eren and Levi (AS CHARACTERS, NOT AS A SHIP PAIRING, BECAUSE IT'S A MAIN ARC AND BECAUSE... WELL, YOU'LL SEE IF I DECIDE TO WRITE IT).
> 
> So- how would you folks like the next few chapters to be about an adventure Eren and Levi have?


	18. Eren- Deaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An experiment gone-wrong leads to unexpected consequences for Eren and Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- the Eren and Levi adventure begins! Please comment your thoughts on the whole thing, as it'll take up the next few chapters. Thanks again and godbless! :)

Levi was completely unprepared when a small child, clad only in a too big shirt, which looked more like a dress, came charging around the corner and latched onto his legs.

He was even more confused when the child began to scream, and flat out refused to let go of him, crying out when any other squad members tried to approach them. He muttered that "Captain Wevi" would protect him, or something of the sort. Whatever it was the kid was saying, it made absolutely no sense.

When Hanji sprinted over less than a moment later, things started to make a bit more sense. The scientist  took one look at the crying child clinging to Levi's legs before she looks up solemnly, meeting Levi's eyes.

"I accidentally turned Eren into a child."

"Really, Shitty Glasses? I hadn't noticed." Levi muttered with the usual amount of sass thrown in, while he glowered over at her. "Fix him. _Now._ "

"I...I don't know how." Hanji admitted, looking down at the boy, concerned.

"You what?"

"I don't have enough information! I don't even know if he's retained his memories- he got scared and ran away crying as soon as he woke up."

Levi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Eren- do you remember me?"

The child had stopped sobbing by this point, and looked up at Levi, teary-eyed. He nodded. "I seen you before. You're the _best_ soldier. Thas why I ran to you- you'll take me home."

Levi froze. "Where do you live, Eren?"

"Singashina. With Mommy an' Daddy an I go play with Armin…."

Levi and Hanji exchanged surprised glances for a moment.

"Eren- do you know any of those people?" he points to the squad, who've stopped preparing for drills and stared at the scene unfolding with concern.

Mikasa took several steps forward. Her dark eyes widened as she reached out for the familiar form, voice gently…. "Eren…."

"I don' know you!" Eren shrieked, thoroughly scared at the prospect of being held by a stranger. He clung to Levi and began to shake.

Mikasa stepped back, looking horrified- her own brother had forgotten her?

"Eren- Eren, let's calm down, alright?" Armin stepped forward and crouched down so he was at the child's level, offering him a warm smile that didn't match the worry in his eyes.

"A-armin?" Eren asked hesitantly. He recognized his friend's facial structure and build, even though he was older….

Armin beamed, nodding. "It's me, Eren…."

"You growed big! A-and you're a _soldier!"_ Eren looked awed at his friend's uniform. "A-and we're wid Captain Levi!"

Armin smiled slightly at his friend's surprise. "Yeah- we are."

"Arlet- what's going on." Levi spoke, wanting answers.

"I… I think he only has the memories of his five year old self, Sir."

"He recognized me, though…."

"He saw you when we were five, Sir. We used to watch the scouting legion expeditions leave and return- we used to play soldiers. He always wanted to play Captain Levi, and I was Erwin Smith…." Armin flushed slightly at the memories, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Levi nodded, still accepting the details. "You're telling me that he's only five? He doesn't remember anything past that?"

Armin nodded. "I think so, Sir."

"So… he doesn't remember Mikasa?" Connie spoke up, looking confused. "She's his sister…."

"Adopted sister." Armin amended quietly. "They didn't meet until he was nine."

Mikasa had pulled her scarf up to hide her trembling lips- it physically hurt not to have Eren remember her. All she could do to keep from scaring him was watch him from afar….

"Armin- where's my Mom an' Dad? Mom will be mad if I'm late for lunch."

Armin stepped back, eyes widening and nostrils flaring at the question. Eren didn't remember his mother's death.

"D-don't worry about it, Eren- your Mom won't be upset anymore…." Armin struggled to keep the emotion out of his voice. He hated deceiving his friend, even though he was a child, but what else could he do? Explain to him his mother was dead? He was only five, explaining that would traumatize him….

"Oh. Okay. Where's my Dad, then- I gotta ask him how you growed so big."

"Y-you're Dad's not here right now, Eren…." Armin's voice shook slightly as he stared straight ahead.

"Then let's go visit Hannes-san! He'll show us the cannons again!" Eren chirped excitedly, forgetting to cling to Levi altogether as he strode over to his friend eagerly.

Armin found himself staring at the ground, then, hands shaking, breathing becoming ragged.

"W-we can't do that right now, Eren…."

"Okay." Eren paused, looking over at his friend, confused. "Armin? Why are you crying?"

"I-I just have something in my eyes, is all…."

"Was it those mean boys again? I'll beat 'em up so they won't bother you again, I promise!"

"Eren!" the pain and sharpness in Armin's voice startled the five year old before him, and Eren looked at him, wide-eyed with surprised.

"Just… just be quiet right now, okay, Eren?" Armin managed, scrubbing frantically at the tears running down his face, trying to maintain his composure. "W-why don't you go see Captain Levi?"

Eren instantly brightened, running over and clinging to Levi's legs again, chattering excitedly up at the soldier he'd admired all his childhood.

A heaviness had settled over the group, however, as they realized how much the trio had lost since they were children. Armin stood, wiping his eyes, and Mikasa looked absolutely lost- there was nothing she could do to help Eren- her one and only purpose in life didn't remember her.

"Hanji- _change him back."_ Levi ground out between grit teeth. It wasn't as though he disliked the little boy hopping around at his feet, chattering on about nothing in particular. But they'd been hit by the gravity of the situation- if they couldn't get Eren back to the way he was- humanity's hope would be lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! :)


	19. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't meant to be this angsty, gosh dang it! I tried to make it a little more adorable/lighthearted her! We'l, work on my emotional variety in the next few chapters!

Dinner that night was near silent, with Eren sitting beside Levi, digging into his food happily, oblivious to the sombre air around him. Erwin watching the boy, a worried frown on his face, while Eld and Ouluo looked uncomfortable, and Petra looked torn between cuddling the boy and concern.

The fire year old, for his part, was oblivious, clumsily shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth as he gripped the too-large spoon in his hand.

He must've felt Levi watching him, as he looked up and offered smile at the man, mashed potatoes all over his face, some even on his nose….

"'S _good…."_

Levi couldn't help but smile slightly at that, before the boy was back to tearing into his food, succeeding in getting more of it on himself than anything.

He hardly stopped to take a breath, continuing on munching haplessly, completely unaware of the worry around him. He reached out a hand that was dwarfed by his long green sleeve, trying to grab his glass, but he only succeeded in sending it toppling over, spilling milk all over himself.

Levi's eyes widened as milk spilled off the table, all over Eren's plate, all over Eren, and all over the floors….

Eren looked up, eyes wide, drenched, before he blushed. "I- I'm sorry…." he teared up slightly, sniffing.

"Sir, I'll clean it up…." Petra was already rushing to grab some napkins- had Eren been an adult, Levi would've been shouting by now….

He looked at the small face, the wide eyes, and couldn't bring himself to yell at the boy. Eren was only five, after all, and it'd been an accident.

He sighed, hefting the boy onto his hip. "I'll get him cleaned up."

He ran a bath in the en suite of his private quarters, making sure the water was warm, before he looked down at the wet child uncertainly.

"So… you know how to bathe yourself, right?" he'd been able to bathe himself at five, but he had no idea what Jager's childhood had been like.

Eren nodded furiously, looking embarrassed.

"Good." Levi handed the boy a towel and a fresh shirt, feeling incredibly awkward. He had no idea how to deal with the plucky teenager turned child, and while he'd help the boy bathe if he needed to, he wasn't well-versed with children, and it felt… wrong.

"Um… don't drown or anything. Well, no one really _plans_ on drowning, so… if you start drowning in the tub, just… yell, alright?" he was supposed to make sure the kid was safe, and, having imparted that last nugget of wisdom on the boy, he turned and fled the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Eren struggled out of the too-large shirt, managing to get out and stepping into the warm water, surprised- he normally had to bathe in cold water at home.

He smiled slightly, dunking his head beneath the water and listening to the complete silence, before he was sitting up, feeling the water drip down his neck, wet hair flopping into his eyes. He giggling in delight, watching the water ripple beneath his fingers, before he splashed a little- just a little splashing couldn't hurt, right?

His eyes lit up in childlike glee, and he laughed before dumping a cupful of water over his head….

Levi stood outside the door, arms crossed over his chest, feeling awkward. He could hear the boy… laughing? He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, it meant the boy wasn't drowning in the tub, but on the other hand, what was so hilarious about taking a bath?

He honestly had no idea how to deal with the situation- it'd been an exhausting day filled with many meetings and emergency discussions on the turn of events. it'd been decided he'd be the one to care for Eren, as they were unsure whether the boy still had his titan shifting abilities….

Levi slid down the wall, resting his head against the back of it and staring up at the ceiling. he was completely, unequivocally unqualified to care for _any_ child, much less one who could turn into a titan….

And if the boy _did_ shift into a titan and go rogue, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill him, knowing there was a five year old boy inside.

He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel his temples beginning to throb with the beginnings of a tension headache. They still didn't know if what'd happened to Eren was reversible. He briefly considered taking some aspirin. It was at that he noticed the splashing- no, any noise coming from the bathroom had stopped, and it was dead silent.

His heart began to pound, and he pressed his ear to the door, frantic to hear the sounds of Eren splashing or giggling like an idiot. Images flashed through his mind- finding the boy in the water, unmoving, gone….

He was just about to burst into the bathroom, privacy be damned, when the door swung open. There, dripping wet despite his attempts to dry himself, stood Eren Jager, with his head through the armhole of the shirt he'd been given, arm through the head hole, and the other arm hole not occupied at all, his arm covered by the cloth of the shirt.

He beamed up at Levi, green eyes shining. "I'm done!"

Levi suppressed the urge to heave a sigh of relief that the boy was alright, instead suppressing the smile that bubbled up at he knelt down in front of the boy, helping him put the shirt on right. The fabric still fell to the boy's knees, and Levi marveled for a brief moment at how small the boy was.

"What are we gonna do now? Do I get to see my mom?" Eren asked, rubbing at one eye.

Levi stiffened slightly at the mention of his mother- he still didn't know how to address that, so he didn't.

"We're going to bed."

"But I don' wanna!" Eren protested, looking distraught. "'M not tired!"

water dripped from his hair onto the floor, and Levi frowned, retrieving the towel he'd given the boy and kneeling down, thoroughly drying his hair. He couldn't have the kid catching pneumonia and dying- not on his watch.

"I don't care if you're tired- it's night. You have to sleep." Levi said tersely, patience wearing thin.

"B-but my Mom isn't here to kiss me goodnight!" Eren looked up at Levi, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. "I can't sleep without it…."

Levi felt something twist painfully within him, and he felt a stab of regret at being so short with the boy.

"What if I tucked you in, instead?" it was what parents were supposed to do, right? He didn't know- his life hadn't exactly been normal- but he remembered warm, safe nights where his mother tucked the threadbare blankets around him before she went to work with the men who smelled like alcohol.

Eren sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve for a moment, considering.

He nodded slowly.

Levi wordlessly hefted the child up, setting him onto the cot one of the soldiers had brought into his room and helping him under the blankets. He tucked them in around the boy, trying not to meet Eren's eyes. He knew he was a poor excuse compared to Eren's mother.

"Sleep well, Eren." he supplied quietly, feeling so, so out of his depth.

Eren nodded quietly, clutching the blankets close.

Levi wordlessly crossed the room in a few strides, pulling off his boots and coat, so he remained in his sleeveless shirt and boxers. He crawled beneath the blankets and blew out the candle, and the room settled into darkness.

Despite all the worried thoughts scrambling around in his mind, begging to be put at the forefront, he was nearly asleep within a few minutes.

He thought he was imagining it when he heard a whimper, but small hands tugging at the blankets roused him, and a small body scrambled onto the mattress.

Levi grunted, keeping his eyes shut. Soon enough, a small, warm body was curled up against his back. Levi wordlessly looked over at the boy. Face relaxed, he looked… peaceful. Childlike, almost. He was small and warm and comfortable, Levi didn't have the heart to move him back onto his cot.

One night of coddling the boy couldn't hurt, could it?

That was what he told himself, before exhaustion finally claimed him. He had the best sleep he'd had in a long, long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? Like it, hate it? Comment how this chapter made you FEEL!


	20. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi experiences the joys of parenthood.

Levi awoke to sunlight streaming through his windows. He blinked for a moment, surprised, before he registered something warm resting against him. He looked down, confused, only to see a small Eren Jaeger curled up against him, eyes closed, lips parted, sleeping peacefully. The fabric of his shirt was knotted between the boy's fingers as one hand held onto him.

His gaze softened for a moment. Eren looked innocent, helpless, almost….

He frowned. Something was off about the boy. He couldn't really place it, but Eren was somehow… different…. from last night.

"Eren." he spoke softly, not wanting to startle the boy, but also needing to rouse him.

"Mmmm…." the boy hummed, little eyes fluttering open. He blinked blearily, confused, before he smiled.

Levi would've taken a moment to marvel at the boy's toothy grin, had he not been concerned. Something was wrong with the boy- he didn't know what, but he was different….

The boy stretched, limbs coming into view, and Levi realized what exactly it was that'd alarmed him. The boy was… bigger? His limbs seemed longer than yesterday, if only by a few inches, but still, the boy was larger than he had been. He'd never been an expert in children, but he was pretty certain they didn't grow a few inches a night.

Eren was completely oblivious to Levi's concern, however, as he sat up and smiled. "I'm hungry!" he exclaimed, looking excited at the prospect of food.

"Eren. How old are you?" Levi queried tentatively, ignoring the boy's statement for the moment.

Eren paused for a moment, thinking. His brows furrowed in concentration, and he counted out the answer on his fingers before holding them up, triumphant.

"Six!" he exclaimed excitedly, as though it was completely normal to age a year in one day.

Levi nodded hesitantly, and Eren was already moving on from the fact, looking up at him eagerly and bouncing slightly. "Can we get breakfast now? I'm hungry!"

Levi nodded, pulling on his shirt and pants, chewing over the knowledge. If Jager had aged a year in a day, then he'd be fifteen within the next nine days. The only issue was if he didn't stop aging so fast, he'd probably be dead by the end of the year….

He was torn from his thoughts when he felt someone attempting, quite crudely, to shove his foot into a boot. He looked down to see Eren was doing his best to help him dress, trying to get his boots on.

"Put your feets in already!" he exclaimed, still grinning. Levi scoffed, but couldn't help but smile before he finished lacing up his boots, ruffling Eren's hair.

"Brrreeeeaaakkkfaaaassstttt!" Eren exclaimed excitedly as he sprinted into the dining hall, Levi striding in behind him.

Eren wordlessly scrambled onto the bench of the closest table in the dining hall, which just so happened to be the table where the Levi squad sat.

Levi rolled his eyes at the boy's obvious excitement, taking his own seat beside the boy. The members of the Levi squad were exchanging amused glances, and Petra beamed, placing a bowl of oatmeal in front of the boy.

"There you are, Eren." she said happily, smiling slightly. Eren really was adorable….

Eren blinked, surprised the lady knew his name.

"Levi- she's pretty." Eren whispered loud enough so that everyone at the table heard, staring at Petra, wide-eyed. Gunther burst out laughing, choking on his glass of milk, and Eld grinned slightly, while Auruo looked upset.

Levi nearly spat out his sip of tea, looking over at the boy, shocked. Even as a six year old, Eren knew what he wanted…. He had no idea how to deal with that. "Yes, she is. Now eat your breakfast."

Eren didn't need anymore chiding, and he dug into his bowl of food ravenously, everything else forgotten.

Petra was still doting on the boy, eyes wide as she stared at how cute he was. Erwin quietly strode over, sitting down across the table form the boy. He smiled. "Good morning, Eren."

"Morwin." Eren spoke around a mouthful of oatmeal, looking up at the man carefully.

"Do you know who I am, Eren?"

"Yep. You're Commander Erwin. Armin always wanted to be you when we played soldiers…."

Erwin looked surprised at the fact for a moment, before he turned to Levi, getting down to business. "How is he?"

"He's six now, apparently." Levi said, shooting a glance over at the boy carefully.

"How did he age a year in one night?" Erwin asked, brows furrowed.

Levi shrugged. "Don't ask me. He just did. Anyways, it's good- it means he'll be normal within a few days."

Erwin nodded slowly, coming to terms with the fact. "What evidence do we have he'll _stop_ aging once he reaches fifteen?"

Levi shrugged. "How should I know? I just figured the accelerated aging is temporary, like his titan form…." Levi looked over at the boy seated beside him. "Hey. You're making a mess." Levi frowned, grabbing his napkin and scrubbing at Eren's face. Eren let him clean him up before continuing to eat, seemingly unbothered by the Captain's intervention.

Both Erwin and the Levi squad stared, surprised at Levi's almost maternal actions.

Eren said nothing, simply continuing to eat, and Levi watching the boy intently.

Erwin nodded seriously, rubbing his chin. "I'll take over training your squad. You'll be in charge of watching him."

Levi nodded coolly, still hardly looking up from Eren. "You finished?"

Eren nodded, eyes bright, and Levi stood. "Good. You'll be my secretary…."

"Do I get to kill titans?" Eren asked, eyes wide as he bounced along beside the man.

"No. You get to staple papers."

"I'll staple ALL the papers…." Eren growled, fist clenched in determination, looking dead serious. Levi nodded. Even as a child, Eren had that fanatical attitude.

Eren was aggressively stapling papers when Petra hesitantly stepped into the room, looking from Eren, who had his tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth in concentration, to Levi, who was reading a letter.

"Petra?"

"I… um… I brought him some clothes. They're my old ones, they'll be a little big, but I did the best I could with sewing them…."

Levi nodded, looking both surprised and grateful. he couldn't just let Eren keep running around in that too-big shirt. "that was very thoughtful of you, Petra. Eren."

Eren looked up from his task, surprised, green eyes bright. "Miss Petra brought you some clothes."

"Really?" Eren looked over, excited at the prospect of wearing pants.

"What do you say to her?"

Eren frowned, looking confused for a moment, before his eyes brightened as he realized the answer. "Thank you!"

Petra was torn between being unnerved at how quickly Eren and Levi had bonded and melting into a puddle at how adorable they were. She settled with giving them a bright smile instead. "No problem, Eren." before she set the clothes on the desk and left.

Eren was already fumbling to pull on the pants- despite Petra's humbleness, she must've been a very good seamstress, since the white pants fit the boy very well, only a bit big. From there Eren was pulling off his too-large shirt into the well-stitched green one Petra had given him. The sleeves were a bit long, but it fit well otherwise….

Eren looked up, grinning. "I look like you!" he chirped, white smile flashing at Levi.

Levi smiled slightly. it was something he found himself doing a lot more since he'd started taking care of the boy. "Yes, you do. Want to lick these envelopes?"

"Yes!" eren was scrambling back up onto his chair, slobbering all over the envelopes and sealing them sloppily for Levi. His technique was far from perfect, and the letters looked clumsy, but he couldn't bring himself to care- not when Eren was so devoted to the task.

They had lunch together in the room, Eren chattering happily to him about the games he and Armin usually played.

The boy stopped mid-bite, however, frowning, placing his hand to his mouth, fingers slick with blood.

"My tooth fell out." he slurred around the blood and saliva pooling in his mouth.

Levi was already pulling his handkerchief from his pocket, pressing it to the boy's mouth calmly and instructing him to lean forward. A few moments later the bleeding had stopped, and Levi removed the handkerchief to see Eren missing one of his front teeth.

He saw the offended tooth resting on the floor and picked it up, fascinated something so small could fall out of the boy's mouth…. He supposed he didn't have to worry. the boy's adult teeth would come in soon enough anyways….

"Tell all the soldiers I loss my tooth in a fight!" Eren lisped, looking excited.

Levi couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's eagerness- he looked even more adorable with that gap-toothed smile- but he obliged. He'd tell the squad Eren had been in a fight….

"Tell them I got it knocked out in a fight with a titan!"

"I'll let you tell them that." Levi smiled slightly, amused, though while Eren was busy babbling on excitedly, he wrapped the lost baby tooth in his handkerchief and tucked it into his pocket. He'd wash the filth off of it later, then save it- it could be a keepsake of sorts.

* * *

Later in the evening, Levi looked up, realizing the time. Eren had grown bored of helping him and started scrawling drawings on paper, and Levi nodded to the boy, standing.

"Want to go watch the squads train?"

"Yeah!" Eren was up and running around excitedly like always, and Levi let the boy orbit around him excitedly until they reached the stable, getting his horse ready.

He tied it to a fence rail outside, lifting a barefoot Eren onto it first before climbing the fence rail and swinging his leg over the saddle behind the boy.

Eren was staring at the ground below them, wide-eyed….

Levi smiled at his enchantment. "you don't remember how to ride a horse, do you?"

"I never rode one before." Eren admitted, before turning to give Levi a gap-toothed grin. "Can you make it run fast?"

Levi nodded. "Yes, as long as you promise to hold on…." He lightly jabbed his black stallion in the ribs with his heels, and the horse started out at a trot. He kicked the horse into a canter, not wanting to risk an all-out gallop with Eren behind him….

Eren was clinging to the horse's mane, smiling brightly, starring as the grass rushed past them eagerly. Within ten minutes they'd reached the training fields, where scouts whipped around the large trees, slicing at the necks of fake-titans. Erwin stood on a particularly large branch, overseeing the activities.

Levi watched the squads critically, analyzing their every movement and twist in the air, while Eren simply stared, open-mouthed and amazed.

Once they were dismissed, the soldiers came over to his horse, looking excited.

"Is that Eren?" Connie asked, grinning happily at the small boy atop the horse with Levi.

Levi rolled his eyes. "No, it's another kid I found."

"Really? Then where's Eren?"

"He's being sarcastic, you idiot." Jean muttered, rolling his eyes. He looked at Eren with narrowed eyes, uncertain as to whether or not he wanted to interact with his now younger rival.

"What happened to him?" Mikasa had already stalked over, looking ready to kill. She'd noticed the gap in Eren's mouth and stared at Levi accusingly. Even if Eren didn't remember her, it didn't mean she wouldn't protect him.

"He lost a tooth, Akerman. It's fucking normal- he's a kid."

"He's so cute!" Christa beamed, reaching out to ruffle his hair excitedly. ymir simply stood back, arms crossed, enjoying watching Christa.

Eren, for his part, looked bored with all the attention, until he noticed a certain blond….

"Armin!" he nearly jumped off the horse, only to be caught hastily by Armin, who smiled at him. "Hey, Eren."

"Wanna play soldiers, Armin?"

Armin wanted to assess the irony of the statement, but he was too tired to at the moment. Instead he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Eren, I have kitchen duty tonight…."

"Awww…." Eren stared at his feet, disappointed.

"But I'll play with you tomorrow, if Captain Levi lets me…." Armin looked to his superior, who nodded.

"Okay." Eren brightened slightly.

"What're we looking at, greenhorns?" Auruo strode into the circle, stopping when he saw the small Eren outfitted in white pants and a green shirt. "Oh."

"Eren!" Petra smiled, and Eren ran over, throwing his arms around her. "thank you for the clothes, Mis Petra! They fit really nice!"

"I'm glad you like them Eren….." Petra smiled, poking the boy on the nose playfully. Eren giggled slightly.

Erwin was watching from a distance, looking amused. Levi had been alright with Eren seeing the other squad members for a few minutes, but now he wanted the boy back. It annoyed him when Eren enjoyed the company of other people, but he wrote it off as his obligation to care for the boy making him hypervigilant instead of jealousy.

"Eren. We should be heading back, it's getting dark…."

"Okay!" the boy was trotting over. Armin lifted the boy up to Levi, who settled him in front of him on his horse.

"Can we ride fast again, Levi?"

"Maybe." Levi said neutrally, so as not to sound soft around the other soldiers. but as soon as they were out of sight, he kicked his horse into a trot, to Eren's delight.

* * *

He wasn't surprised when the small body scrambled up into the bed beside him that night- instead he just laid still, listening in the darkness until the boy's breathing slowed, indicating he was asleep. Levi was tired himself, but he made sure to spare a glance down at the sleeping boy. He was slightly remorseful that these would be the last few hours he'd spend with the six year old.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! :)


	21. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is so Kawaii!

At seven, Eren was surprisingly easy to care for. He dressed himself, and though his brown locks were messy, his gap-toothed smile convinced Levi he was presentable enough to go downstairs to breakfast.

Afterwards, they went out to supervise morning drills, Eren sitting seriously in front of Levi on the horse, though barefoot, scrutinizing every move his comrades made.

"That guy's sloppy." Eren pointed to Jean, a frown on his face. "And he looks like a horse." the last bit was added almost like an afterthought, but Eren smiled when Levi nodded his agreement.

After watching drills, they returned to Levi's office, where Levi settled into doing paper work and Eren laid on his stomach on the floor, drawing with a pack of crayons someone had managed to snag for him.

Levi was completely unprepared when Erwin came striding into his office- he looked up, expected the conversation to be simple- but he when he saw the somber look on Erwin's face, he realized something serious had happened.

"What's happened?"

"Titans have built up on the walls outside of Stohess. It's manageable, but barely- they want it taken care of before it grows any worse. They've requested we dispatch squadrons to deal with it."

Levi raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical. "Isn't that the Garrison's job?"

"They've never had to deal with such a large number of titans at once before. Their losses have been concerning- we've been ordered to render aid. You're our most capable."

Levi frowned, darting a glance over at Eren. The boy was still on his stomach on the floor, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he drew.

"I can't."

"I understand where you're coming from- really, I do- but the brass his demanded your presence. They've requested Eren come, as well, as assurance, in case your squadron can't handle it."

Levi paled rapidly. "They can't find out about his current condition, or they'll take him."

Erwin nodded. "Exactly. Which is why you and your squad can't fail. If you handle it, there will be no need for Eren to shift…."

"I don't even think he's capable of shifting at the moment…." Levi looked over at the crayon wielding boy. He highly doubted the seven year old could shift in his current condition.

"That's irrelevant, Levi. If you and your squad do their job, they'll never find out."

Levi swallowed, nodding. The entire situation rested on his shoulders. He was normally good with pressure, but everything seemed muddled when Eren was involved.

"I assume you want me to leave Eren here, in your care?"

Erwin didn't meet Levi's eyes, instead looking over at the boy coloring happily on the floor. He hesitated for a brief moment before he spoke. "... I feel it'd be best if he remained with you."

"How am I supposed to coordinate an attack and care for him!?" Levi hissed, voice low enough to Eren couldn't hear him. "Just how do you expect me to keep him entertained, lead my troops, and keep the brass finding out about his current condition?"

Erwin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, contemplating the dilemma. "Have one of your squad members stay behind in the camp with him to supervise him- claim they're ill. Lead your troop by day, and resume your care over him at night. It should be a simple task- if you work to your usual standard, the titans should be cleared within two days."

Levi leaned his head back and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't like this idea."

"I understand that- but Eren is attached to you. It'd be much worse if you were to leave him..."

"He's not attached to me." Levi glared at hsi superior and friend accusingly.

"Heichou! I drew you a picture!"

Levi's head whipped around to see Eren bouncing on the balls off his feet, giving him a gap-toothed grin and proudly holding up a rather sloppy drawing.

"It's of you- killing ALL the titans so I can go play outside the walls." Eren beamed.

Levi looked at the drawing critically for a moment- he clearly saw himself in stick-figure form, the grey crayon marking his blades, and the deformed flesh-colored titans. Along with LOTS of scribbles of red...

"That's there blood. You're gonna bathe in it once you've killed them all." Eren explained cheerfully, smile never dulling.

Levi looked at the boy seriously. "This is the best work of art I've ever been given. I'll keep it forever. Can you draw me another one?"

Eren nodded seriously, before he was scurrying over to his crayons and paper, wanting to make another drawing.

Erwin smirked triumphantly, but Levi paid him no attention, opening his desk drawer and carefully tucking the drawing into it, being careful not to wrinkle it. He looked up at Erwin, blinking. "Now, where were we?"

"He's going with you."

"Does he even want to come?" Levi demanded, glowering.

Erwin looked over. "Eren. Would you like to go to Stohess?"

Eren looked up, brilliant green eyes wide. "Is my mom there?"

Erwin's expression dulled slightly with concern. "No..."

"Is Levi going there?"

Erwin smiled. "Yes. He is."

"I wanna go!" Eren was already bouncing on the balls of his feet, excited to go on an adventure with his caretaker.

Levi shot Erwin a scowl of displeasure, but he found he couldn't stay mad when he saw the excitement in Eren's eyes.

* * *

Levi sat in the back of a rather bumpy supply wagon with a chatty seven year old.

Eren looked up at him- he'd lost several more teeth that day, resulting in more gaps in his smile. It somehow managed to make him more adorable.

"Is Stoneass big?" Eren asked, butchering the pronunciation due to his lack of teeth.

Levi snickered slightly at the boy's error, masking his chuckling with a couch, before he became serious again and nodded. "It's quite large."

"As big as Shinganshina?"

Levi's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the fallen city, but he quickly recovered himself. Eren didn't remember the fall of Shinganshina yet- he only had the memories of his seven year old self.

"It's a bit smaller than Shinganshina."

"Do they have homeless people like back home? We had lots of homeless people- they smelled bad, but I felt sorry for them, cause Mom says they didn't have anything to eat."

Levi stared at the boy incredulously. He'd known Shinganshina was one of the poorer outer districts, but he'd never imagined Eren had seen poverty like that.

"I.. don't know."

Eren nodded, accepting the answer for truth and jumping into his next question. "Do they sell meat there? We got to have meat sometimes..."

Levi took relief in the change of topics and answered the question absentmindedly, saying whatever really came to his mind to satisfy the boy's thirst for knowledge.

It'd been quiet for quite some time before he noticed the silence. "Oi- Eren..."

The seven year old laid curled up on the wagon bed, cheek smushed against the wood floor, fast asleep. He'd exhausted himself with all his questioning, and Levi smiled slightly, bundling the boy up in his green cloak and resting the small head in his lap, trying to make the boy more comfortable. He idly wondered if maybe, just maybe, after the war was over, he might find a girl and have a child with her...

* * *

By the time they'd made camp within the walls of Stohess, it was late at night. Eren, however, had slept the majority of the ride to the city, and as such, was wide awake, and wanted to do anything but fall asleep.

"Levi Heichou-" Eren shook the older man beside him in the tent. "Levi Heichou, wake up!"

Levi groaned, before he was awake. "Eren? Are you alright?"

Eren shook his head. "I'm bored, Levi Heichou. Will you play tag with me?"

Levi stared at the boy in disbelief for a moment. It was the middle of the freaking night, he was exhausted, and he had to lead his squad in massacring titans tomorrow. A job that, when not well rested, could quickly result in death. But Eren wanted to play tag with him.

"No. I will not play tag with you. Go to sleep."

"But Levi Heichou..."

"Enough, Eren! Sleep." Levi ordered, rolling over so his back faced the small boy.

For a brief moment, he thought the conversation would be over. But thenm small hands were shaking him again, and a more whiny voice grated at his ears. "But Levi..."

Levi sat up, frustrated beyond belief. "Enough, Eren! Do you realize that tomorrow I have to lead my soldiers on a mission to kill titans? It will be bloody and hellish and awful, and if I don't get enough sleep to stay sharp, I will get eaten and die. Do you understand that?" he snapped, running a hand through his hair.

He looked down to see Eren staring at him, mouth open in surprise. A moment later his green eyes were glassy and his chin was trembling, before he burst into tears.

Levi looked down at the boy, anger forgotten for a moment, as he sat, uncertain as to what to do. "Eren?"

"I'm sorry!" Eren wailed. Small hands were grabbing at his shirt, and it was all Levi could so to stare in shock as Eren cried. "D-don't die, okay? I-I'm sorry I was bad, but d-don't l-leave me..."

Those words broke Levi's heart, and he was wrapping his arms around the boy, trying to quiet him. "It's okay, Eren, really-"

"It's NOT OKAY!" Eren managed between sobs. "You're gonna d-die..."

Levi simply stared down at the boy,m clueless as to what to do as Eren buried his face in his shift and cried.

He absently started rubbing the boy's back, trying to calm the child. "Eren- Eren, it's okay. I'm not going to die. That was stupid of me to say, I'm just tired and frustrated right now."

Eren looked up and sniffed at him, eyes still watering. "S-so you're not gonna die?" he asked quietly.

"Well, eventually, I suppose..."

"No! Never ever ever!" Eren was shaking his head rapidly along with his statement. "Promise me you'll never ever die!"

Levi frowned. No one could promise such a thing, but if he said anything but yes, the boy would be hysterical. He didn't plan on dying soon, anyways, so he nodded. "I promise, Eren. I'll never die. And I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Eren sniffed. "S'okay." he promised, wiping his nose on his was slightly disgusted, but decided to let the transgression go unnoticed... just this once. After all, it was his fault for upsetting the boy.

Even though everything was resolved, Eren was still sniffling. Levi blamed how pitiful the brat looked for his next action, but the boy had said he wanted to play the game, after all, and if it'd cheer him up...

Levi deliberately placed his hand on Eren's head, maintaining a serious expression. "Tag." he deadpanned. "You're it."

Eren burst into a fit of giggles before he was pouncing on Levi, placing his hand on the older man's chest. "Tag! Heichou's it!"

Levi rolled his eyes to hide the smile that was tugging at his lips before poking Eren on the nose. "Tag, Eren is it..."

"Tag! Heichou's it!"

The game wore on for nearly fifteen minutes, during which there was much giggling and much adorableness, before Eren slumped forward atop Levi's chest, exhausted from crying and playing, peacefully asleep.

Levi looked down at the brat asleep atop his chest, feeling his own exhaustion return, more insistent this time. He still had a mission to lead tomorrow, killing titans, and then he had to return to take care of this brat for the night...

If he ever found a girl, they were never having kids. Never.

He blamed his fatigue on the smile that crept onto his face before he fell asleep, wrapping his arms around the small body on top of him.


	22. 8- Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the squad deploys to fight titans at Stohess, Eren runs into trouble without Levi.

Morning dawned when it was still dark out. Today Eren was eight. Levi dragged him out of bed, ignoring the boy's grumbling, and set him down near the makeshift canteen they'd set up in their small camp.

Breakfast was dried biscuits and jerky, but no one complained. They were far too somber to even crack jokes about the lack-luster food, all too caught up in the fact that some of them might not be alive for dinner tonight.

Eren munched on a dry biscuit, leaning up against Levi, still tired at the early hour. Levi let him, chewing his jerky absently.

When the majority of his squad was finished, Levi nodded to them, giving orders.

"Veterans will be paired with new squad members. Your foremost goal is to stay alive- our second goal to to completely clear the eastern side of the wall of titans. There are trees for cover and they have large trunks that are ideal for anchoring 3DMG. Keep that in mind. We hope to get the east side cleared of titans before dark."

Levi turned to Reiner, nodding to him. "Reiner- you'll be staying behind to watch over Eren."

Reiner's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded, accepting the order without complaint.

Levi stood, nodding to the rest of his squadron. "Everyone else- get your gear on. Good luck."

With mute nods, the group dispersed, leaving Levi to see Eren looking up at him balefully.

He sighed, kneeling down so he was eye level with the boy.

"Be good, Eren."

Eren nodded. His chin was trembling, but he dutifully pursed his lips, refusing to let tears fall from his glassy eyes.

Levi turned, about to stand, but was stopped when he felt a small hand tug at his turned around, surprised, to see Eren was still looking up at him. "Promise me you'll come back?" his voice was barely above a whisper, but Levi nodded.

"I promise."

Eren stood at the edge of the path, watching the squadron troop through the mud with the clanking of blade holders and maneuver gear. Eren offered a pitiful looking wave as he watched them go, and Levi couldn't help but cast a glance over his shoulder.

Eren stood staring down the path long after they were out of sight.

"Eren. C'mon." Reiner nodded to the boy. Eren didn't move, simply standing and staring at the mess of footprints they'd left in the mud. He hoped there would be this many footprints when they came back in the evening.

Reiner sighed, frustrated. "Fine. Stand here and wallow in the mud, then." and he was gone, turning and ducking back into his tent.

For a long while, Eren didn't know what to do with himself. He milled around aimlessly outside for about an hour, before he grew cold from the wet weather and crawled back into Levi's tent. It felt so empty without Levi there, and he looked over to see the bed roll they'd been sharing wasn't made up.

He blinked for a moment, surprised. Levi never left his bed unmade. He quietly crawled over to it, doing his best to make it up for him, so the tent would be orderly when he got back home.

He didn't realize that Levi had left his bedroll unmade in the hopes of coming back to find it unmade, and beinn able to reprimand himself and sleep in it, as the alternative was not coming back at all. It was a scouting legion tradition to leave the bed rolls unmade, in the hopes that they'd come back alive and be able to fall right back into them.

Eren didn't know that, however. He wondered if the rest of the squad had left their bedrolls unmade, adn quietly made his way from tent to tent to fix them for them, before he finally happened upon Reiner's tent again.

He quietly crawled inside. He didn't particularly like Reiner, but he was so lonely, even being near another human would do. Reiner looked up from where he'd been in his bedroll, reading some sort of book.

He nodded to Eren. "You need something?"

Eren shrugged. All he really wanted was for Levi to come back...

Reiner frowned- he wasn't really sure what a shrug meant. Suddenly it came to him, and he nodded. "Ah, you want lunch? Here." he tossed a biscuit at Eren, and it hit the boy in the head, falling to the tent floor. Eren look at it without interest before he slowly picked it up, turning it over in his hands. for a moment before tucking it into his pocket. He wasn't hungry right now- he'd eat it later.

"So, uh... you need anything else?" Reiner asked. He had no idea how to care for a child.

Eren wordlessly shook his head, trudging out of his tent and crawling back into Levi's. He blinked back tears, shivering slightly and crawling into the bed roll. He buried his face in the pillow, ignoring the tears that cascaded down his face.

It smelled like Levi.

* * *

His blades were slick with titan blood, and while it was quickly evaporating, last night's rain had soaked the trees, making everything within them- even them- in a perpetual state of dampness.

They'd been able to draw the majority of the titans away from the wall, and they hadn't lost a signal man. It appeared simply executing masses of titans was far less dangerous than an expedition outside the walls. It did, however, require coordinated attacks, which took much more time than expected to set up.

He had the newest members take out the tallest titans, while the more nimble and experienced members went in a few seconds after, taking out the shorter classes, and using their agility to dodge the falling bodies of the larger titans. It'd been an incredibly successful, if not time consuming, strategy.

Still, Levi would've rather fought for days longer if it meant keeping everyone in his squadron alive.

"Kirstein- go!"

Jean nodded, his squad, consisting of him, Arlet, and Connie, onward to swoop into the throng of fifteen meters.

"Gunther- follow!"

Gunther, Petra and Auruo followed seconds behind, agilely taking out three twelve-meters and skillfully dodging the falling bodies of the fifteen-meters before swing back up into the safety of the trees.

It was nearly three in the afternoon, and they were only halfway done.

"We need to speed this up, everyone!" he called. "We'll being deploying four squads at once. Rookies, take out the taller ones- veterans, go for the shorter ones and maneuver out of the way of the falling bodies! I'll take out the shortest ones. Ready!?"

"Sir!" the resounding cry echoed.

"Rookie squads- deploy!"

* * *

"They should be back by now!" Eren cried out, distressed, as he looked over at Reiner.

"Levi said they'd be back by dark- it's getting dark, and there's no sign of them! Something must've happened!"

Reiner shrugged, looking unbothered. "Maybe something did happen, Eren. There's nothing we can do about it."

Eren looked down at him in disbelief, but Reiner missed the boy's horrified expression completely, as he was still absorbed in his book.

"What could've happened to them?" Eren asked, looking upset.

Reiner shrugged, not looking up from his book. "Who knows, Eren. Maybe they ran out of gas or something."

He also managed to completely miss the way Eren's jaw clenched in determination, before the boy was running from the tent, eyes aflame.

He knew where the supply post was- he'd seen soldiers fueling up there earlier, and he ducked into it, grabbing a tank of what mujst've been gas and stuffing it into a satchel, along with whatever supplise he could grab.

Before he had a chance to think, he was running down the muddied path, towards the outside of the walls. The only sound was his harsh breathing as he sprinted down the muddied path, heading towards wherever it was Levi was pinned down.

_I'm coming, Levi._

* * *

It was well on the way to darkness when Levi trooped into camp with his soldiers, muddied but victorious. Though it'd been time consuming, they'd completely cleared the east wall of titans. Most of the troops were eager to get back for dinner, but Levi had something else on his mind. He needed to see Eren.

He was confused when the boy didn't run out to meet them as soon as he stepped into the camp. Confusion quickly turned to concern.

"Eren?"

Reiner ducked out of his tent, looking pleased to see them back.

Before Reiner could say anything, Levi spoke. "Where's Eren."

Reiner frowned. "I thought he was asleep in your tent..."

Levi jogged over, pulling back the flap to the tent, praying to find the boy curled up beneath the bed roll, asleep and oblivious to Levi's calling his name.

The tent was empty, bed roll made. He whirled, stance similar to a pitbull ready to attack.

"Where is Eren?" he growled out through grit teeth.

The entire camp had come to a stand still, now, soldiers staring at Reiner, eyes questioning.

Reiner shrugged, looking defensive. "I don't know! He said something about how you should've been back, I told him you were probably out of gas or something..."

"Captain!" Armin stumbled over, panting. "Eren's footprints- they lead to the supply tent, and then towards the gate! he's headed outside the wall!"

Levi whirled. "What the hell did you tell him!?" he shouted, glaring at Reiner.

Suddenly all the pieces came together. They'd come back late, Reiner mentioning they might've run out of gas...

"Some supplies are missing, Captain..." Armin swallowed, looking worried. "I think Eren went to try and re-supply us..."

"No one is to leave this camp." Levi growled, running for the stables.

"Captain, we can search more efficiently if you allow us to help-"

"I said _no one!_ " Levi shouted, silencing the camp. "He's probably only left a little while ago, I can catch him if I move quickly... We need to maintain the appearance of a military operation, in case the brass shows up. Understood?" He was lying to himself, and he knew it. If Eren had made it outside the walls- he refused to entertain such a thought.

Armin nodded.

That was all the assurance Levi needed, and he was sprinting into to the stables, then, mounting the fastest horse possible and tearing out of the camp at a gallop.

He refused to acknowledge how tears prickled at the corner of his eyes.

_Eren... please be alive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? How does this chapter leave you guys feeling? Please comment! :)


	23. 8- Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi races against time to find Eren, and find being a parent has become complicated.

He was tired. He could only get so far with the small pair of women's boots he'd been given, but he kept his goal in mind as he jogged down the muddied path, reaching the gates to the outside wall.

'Levi said they were going to be on the East side of the wall.' he thought to himself, looking up. 'Armin told me the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The sun is closest to setting now, so East is... that way!' he turned in the opposite direction of the setting sun, taking off.

He wasn't afraid to be outside the wall. Normally he and Armin had to go outside to gather wood, but he was more vigilant than usual, knowing there might be lingering titans around. He'd never seen a titan up close before, and while they frightened him, he wanted to see what kept everyone prisoner within the walls.

His breath came in short pants as he strode across the muddied battle field, climbing over the gigantic skeletons. He felt pride flare within his chest at the thought that Levi had killed beasts this massive.

Dusk was fast approaching as he came to the forest of large trees. He remembered Levi had mentioned trees in his battle plans, and perked up, excited. Levi was probably stuck in a tree, out of gas. All he had to do was bring it to him.

He picked up his pace, jogging down the muddy path, excited. "Levi! Levi, if you're there, come out!" he called, desperate to find him. He ran until he was out of breath, looking around, confused. Maybe Levi had retreated deeper into the forest to draw the titans away from everyone. That made sense.

Eren paused for a moment, hungry. He rummaged through the satchel he'd grabbed, finding a small folding knife and a biscuit he'd grabbed in his haste. He clipped the knife to his belt and ate as he walked, eager to get to Levi before dusk fully turned to night.

He turned a bend in the forest path, distracted by the biscuit in his hands. He looked up when he heard a grunt, and came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes. He froze, the half-eaten biscuit falling from his hand into the mud, and gasped in surprise.

It was a titan. It had to be. It stood only half a meter tall, but the glowing red eyes and sharp teeth, as well as the naked, deformed fleshy body were enough to identify it for him. He stepped back, surprised, fumbling for the knife in his belt, as the creature bounded across the mud on all fours like some sort of demon.

He was tackled onto his back into the mud. He was gasping, shocked, before the creature struck out at his arms, which he'd thrown up in a desperate attempt to protect his face. A flash of pain erupted and warm crimson startled to dribble down his arm.

A rush of adrenaline made everything moved faster as he freed the knife from his belt, thrusting it forward into the titan's hated red eye.

The titan let out an inhuman sounding screech, and Eren fumbled to push it off him with his wounded arm. Steam had begun to rise from the creature's wound, and when it tried to rise, Eren kicked it viciously in the flank, falling onto it and stabbing, stabbing, tearing at its flesh with primal abandon.

Red. It was everywhere- it stained his clothes, sullied his hands, spattered on his boots like rose petals with a more distinct odor. It was in his hands, in his mouth, he could taste the salt and sweat, every time his knife cleaved down and elicited a cry from the creature, the better his chances of survival.

He didn't stop until the titan had actually started to decay beneath him. He'd hit it, by pure luck, in the back of the neck, though he didn't know it at the time.

He didn't realize he'd been screaming until he noticed that he couldn't breathe. He fell silent, gasping noisily for air, ignoring the way his torn throat burned at the feeling.

He stumbled backward, landing on his behind and scuttling through the mud, away from the creature's body. His breathing was ragged, eyes wide, and the titan was decaying rapidly, until it was only a pile of blackened bones.

He didn't know what to do. He wouldn't be able to fight off another titan, he'd barely escaped this one. As the adrenaline dulled, he felt the pain- he looked down at his arm, scared and upset to see he was missing a large chunk of flesh. His sleeve was ripped and soaked with blood, and it hurt...

He cried. It started to rain at some point, the thunder and lightening sending him to near hysterics. He was drenched by the rain, terrified by thunder, and he dropped the knife, clutching his wounded arm, and stumbled off the path, tripping and falling over a root, face first into the mud.

He found a hollow log at some point and crawled into it, soaked to the bone and sobbing, and closed his eyes. He wanted to go home.

* * *

Levi kicked his horse for the umpteenth time that day, eyes wide. He hadn't found Eren at the path leading to the gates, and a quick inspection of the ground showed small boot prints through the graveyard of titan bones, leading towards the forest.

His breath came in quick, uneven pants. How far outside the walls had Eren gotten? What if he was hurt or lost, or what if the boy happened upon a titan?

It started to thunder at some point, and began pouring rain, echoing the tone of Levi's thoughts.

He was drenched to the bone, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that Eren was out here, alone and afraid somewhere...

His horse froze right as they reached a bend in the forest path. Levi growled, frustrated, and kicked the animal. he didn't have the patience for this, the situation demanded the utmost urgency...

A blast of thunder spooked the animal beneath him. Two tons of lean muscle reared off the ground, sending him flying. He landed roughly in the mud. Before he could even attempt to righten himself and calm the animal, a flash of lightening sent the horse running away from him, down the path, back towards the safety of the walls.

Levi cursed, getting to his feet and stumbling forward. Not having a horse didn't change the fact that Eren was still out here, and he stumbled around the bend.

A satchel was lying discarded in the mud. Strips of torn fabric and what looked to be a half-eaten biscuit laid in the mud. Levi stared for a moment, before he was crouching, examining it. Eren was impulsive, but he wouldn't just drop his supplies like this, unless... Something had happened to him.

Levi was already running forward, a flash of lightening illuminating his path. A few meters ahead something caught the light. He fell to his knees, pulling the object from the mud desperately- it was a knife. Open and abandoned, Levi looked around, frantic.

"EREN!"

The wind stole his words away and drove the rain into his face, and he stumbled forward, tripping over something and landing on the ground.

He turned, looking over at what it was he'd tripped on...

Bones. The charred skeleton of a titan, it had to be, it was so small- definitely an abnormal that'd escaped slaughter at their hands near the wall today.

Levi's eyes widened, his breath coming in quick, uneven pants. His heart jumped to his throat, and he summoned all his willpower.

"Eren!"

Thunder was his only answer. He couldn't breathe, he was choking on his own despair. Where was he? He stumnbled off the path, desperate for shelter, for anything else the boy had dropped, any sign he was still alive.

He dragged himself over to the nearest thing he ould find- a log. he sliung himself over it, desperate for anything...

"Give him _back_! _You can't have, him, dammit!_ " his torn voice sounded over the noise of the storm. _"He's mine, you hear me!? You... won't... take him! EREN! Where are you?_ " he was stumbling to his feet again, only to be sent tumbling by a vicious gust of wind. He came face to face with the end of a hollow log, and a small, tear-stained face.

" _Levi?_ " the small voice was nearly drown out by the storm, and his silver eyes widened for a moment before he was reaching out, pulling the small body out from the small space, taking him into his arms.

Eren bawled loudly, and Levi looked down to see the boy's sleeve was bloodstained. He quickly pulled up the sleeve, staring. The boy was missing a large chunk of flesh from his arm, it was clearly a bite wound of some sort- it wept blood openly. Levi tore at his coat, ignoring the wind and pressing the cloth to the injury.

Eren cried out, and while the noise broke Levi''s heart, there was nothing he could do. What was best for Eren was to treat the wound, regardless of how it might hurt.

Eren looped his uninjured arm around Levi's neck, burying his head in Levi''s shoulder and crying loudly. He was terrified, in pain, and exhausted.

Levi simply pulled the boy closer to him as the unrelenting rain continued to swirl around them. It was only when Levi's face felt warm and his vision grew fuzzy that he realized he was crying.

Eren cried until he went limp, exhaustion and pain taking a toll on the boy. The rain lessened, and Levi heaved himself to his feet, the small body still clutched tightly to his chest. He tucked the boy beneath his cloak in the hopes to shield him from the elements as he stumbled back down the path towards the wall.

Eren was disturbingly silent, but Levi could feel the small heart fluttering against his own. For now, that was enough.

By the time they stumbled back into camp, the storm was over altogether.

They were met by worried questions and anxious looks, all of which Levi couldn't attend to at the moment. Instead, he handed Eren to Armin, nodding to the blond.

"See to his arm." was all he rasped.

A loud wail split the air a moment later, and Eren was desperately grabbing at Levi's cloak, glassy eyes wide and desperate. Levi looked surprised for a moment before his expression softened, and he took Eren back, ordering someone to grab a med kit and come back to help him.

Levi wordlessly tugged the boy's shirt over his head, taking special care to be gentle with his injured arm. Eren still whimpered, clinging to Levi as though his life depended on it and burying his head in his chest.

Christa came running back with a med kit a moment later, eyes widening when she saw the wide bite wound revealing the muscle in Eren's arm. She shook her head, eyes wide. "This is going to need stitches."

"Can you give him anything so he doesn't feel it?"

Christa shook her head. "All we have is alcohol, Sir."

Levi looked pained for a moment, glancing down at the wound. It'd surely get infected if it was left open, and he nodded. "Do it."

Eren tensed every time the needle entered his skin, flinching painfully. At times strangled cries escaped his mouth, and every movement was painful to watch. Christa gave up on trying to be neat, instead going as quickly as possible in the hopes of being humane.

At last, it was all over, and Eren laid panting in Levi's arms. His glassy eyes fell closed, and Levi wordlessly tugged the boy's pants off, wrapping him in a dry cloak someone had brought him.

Eren's heavily lidded eyes fluttered open as he was carried into Levi's tent, tightening his grip on the man who held him. Some would've sworn they heard him mutter 'Levi', before the Captain ducked into the tent with him and was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I love all of the feedback you guys give me- I especially like to hear your favorite parts of each chapter.  
> Thanks again! :)


	24. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is nothing crazy dramatic like the last one or anything- during the night, as Eren's memories of being nine come back, Levi struggles with the realization of what Eren's done.
> 
> Levi also struggles to try and figure out his relationship with Eren, now that the boy is clearly getting older.
> 
> And Mikasa is remembered, so...yeah, that's about it for this chapter. Please commenr! :)

Something twitched beside Levi, bringing the exhausted man one step closer to consciousness.

He grunted, twitching slightly, before, even in his unconsciousness, he heard the whimper.

Levi's eyes fluttered open. He looked over, concerned, to see Eren tangled up in the blankets, thrashing.

"Eren? Eren!" Levi stared for a split second, alarmed, before he was wrapping his arms around the boy, trying to still him. He grunted again, as a small, balled fist struck his rib cage with surprising force.

Harsh pants escaped the boy, he was fighting something imaginary. "Eren- wake up!" the boy didn't respond to his voice, and it made Levi's blood run cold. Eren had always responded to his voice...

And then there was gasping. Levi looked down, surprised, to see Eren's green eyes had fluttered open. They were still hazy with sleep, peering out beneath chestnut bangs that were plastered to his forehead with sweat.

Those glassy, exhausted eyes locked with Levi's own confused silver ones.

"Levi- I killed people." was all the boy said, his voice devoid of all emotion, before his eyes fell shut and he was dead to the world.

Levi pushed himself up on his elbow, shocked. He stared down at the small body, anxious- he wanted to wake the boy up, to hold him, to promise him it was all just some nightmare- but Eren had had such a straining day, he needed all the rest he could get.

Not to mention the disconcerting fact that, somewhere, deep in his gut, Levi knew it hadn't been a dream.

"Stop it." he whispered, pulling the small, sleeping body into his arms. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! Just let me protect you..." He looked down at Eren, desperate. Why couldn't the boy just stay small forever? Why did he have to grow so quickly, to face such impossible obstacles?

Levi let out a shaking breath, tightening his grip on the small body and tucking Eren's head beneath his chin. He blinked back the tears he felt, instead focusing on how the tufts of chestnut hair tickled his chin.

Please... don't put him through this. Let it all just be a nightmare.

Levi awoke first that morning, finding Eren still sleeping peacefully in his arms. There hadn't been any further thrashing or words from the boy since last night, and it relaxed Levi somewhat.

Maybe, just maybe, it'd all been a nightmare. Something Levi's exhaustion-addled brain had crafted between wake and sleep to torment him.

"Eren- wake up." Levi spoke quietly, slowly sitting up and shaking the boy's shoulder.

Blearly green eyes opened, and small fists crept up to rub the sleep from them.

"Mhuh?" Eren looked up, slightly surprised, before realization dawned on his face. Those peridot eyes looked so much duller than they had before.

This was real. He'd known it, and he'd been a fool to try and deny it. It was in the boy's file, after all- he'd brutally killed two men in an insane, but successful, attempt to save Mikasa Akerman from sex traffickers.

He wanted to be wrong- he wanted Eren to laugh again, to draw him pictures and play tag with him. He wanted anything for the boy but this. Eren deserved so much more than this bitter, cruel reality.

He wanted to make certain, at least. "How old are you, Eren?"

"Nine." Eren answered obviously, blinking. He looked around for a moment, as though realizing they were still in their tent.

Levi's mouth was dry- he had no idea how to ask this. "Eren- did you kill anyone?"

Eren paused, nodding. His gaze had hardened, now, and he looked at Levi not like a child, but like an adult.

"I killed two guys. They looked like people- but they weren't people, Levi. They were animals- they were monsters. They just looked like people. They deserved what they got."

Levi swallowed back the urge to gasp. Where was the sweet little kid he'd known not even yesterday? His heart had begun to race, and Eren hadn't yet stopped talking.

"That's the thing with monsters, Levi- sometimes, they look just like people. We think they're good and nice because they look like us, but really, they're evil."

Levi repressed the urge to shiver. He'd learned that lesson young- younger than Eren had, as a matter of fact, but it didn't make witnessing the boy's realization any easier.

Levi licked his dry lips for a moment, wondering how to handle the situation. "Do you want breakfast?"

Eren nodded, eagerly, expression instantly brightening.

Eren bounded to his feet, stepping into his small pair of boots and smiling, before the light drained from hsi face. "Y-you're not leaving again, are you? you don;t have to fight titans again today?"

Levi nodded. "Yes, Eren- I have to go."

Two small hands were tugging on his sleeve, pulling him away from the tent door as he shook his head rapidly, blinking back the tears that welled up in those viridan eyes. "N-no you don't! Just stay here! I'm sure the other soldiers can handle it- you really don't need to go!"

Levi let a sad smile cross his face. Despite what he;d done, Eren was still very much a child.

"I'm afraid I do, Eren."

"B-but the titans are dangerous! They bite and it hurts!" Eren protested, jumping in front of the tent opening.

"Eren. I have to go." Levi said seriously, nudging the boy aside. He was about to duck out into the camp when a small hand latched onto his wrist. He turned, surprised, to see Eren looking at him tearily, chin quivering.

"P-please don't leave..."

"Eren..." Levi sighed, pulling the boy into a quick hug. "Today is the last day, I promise. I won't let them hurt me."

"P-promise?"

"Promise." Levi frowned, wiping a stray tear away from the corner of Eren's eye. "Besides, we still have to get breakfast before I leave."

Eren nodded hurriedly, wiping a sleeve across his face before he was ducking out of the tent behind Levi, eager for their morning meal.

Levi had expected Eren to be even more anxious about the squad today, since he;d encountered a titan himself yesterday. What he;d forgotten, however, was that Eren had remembered someone.

"Mikasa!" the shrill cry was out of Eren's mouth in an instant, before he was running, boots pounding through the mud before he threw himself at the raven-haired girl...

Mikasa looked down at him, surprised, for a brief moment, before she blinked heavily, wrapping her arms around the small body. She'd been anxiously awaiting the day her brother would remember her again...

"Those guys didn't hurt you bad, did they?" Eren asked quietly.

Mikasa looked down, surprised, for a moment, before she shook her head. "No. We took care of it." she took his small hand in her own, crouching down so she was eye level with him. "They won't be hurting anyone. Ever again."

Eren nodded, seeming to agree with her harsh tone by the seriousness in his eyes.

Mikasa smiled, handing him a biscuit spread with honey. Eren absolutely attacked it, ignoring how sticky it made his hands, and Mikasa smiled warmly as she watched him devour it, lowering her red scarf slightly.

Everyone else seemed to watch for a moment, surprised.

"He remembered you." Jean remarked, seemingly impressed.

Armin nodded. "It makes sense. Eren met her when she was nine. Hypothetically, he'll remember the rest of you when he turns fifteen..."

"Which leaves only one question. Who stays to watch over Eren today." Levi asked, shooting Reiner a dangerous glare.

Reiner sighed. "I understand I did a sub-par job of watching him yesterday, Captain..."

Mikasa gave the large blonde a look that made full grown men piss themselves, curling back her lip into a snarl. "You think?" she hissed, before she was turning back to Eren. The only thing that was keeping her from attacking the blonde lunk was the fact that Armin had already begun to subtly mind-fuck the man with increasingly aggressive pranks.

"Mikasa should stay to look after Eren." Christa spoke up, nodding towards the pair. Neither Mikasa nor Eren had heard her, but Mikasa was using her scarf to wipe some stray crumbs off Eren's chin, while Eren looked like the concept of cleanliness was foreign to him.

Levi frowned, conflicted. While he knew that Akerman would do the best of everyone, besides him, of course, at caring for Eren, she was skilled in the feild, as well.

"We can pick up the slack without Mikasa, Sir." Armin supplied quietly. "She'll take the best care of Eren out of everyone here..."

Levi wordlessly nodded. It was decided, then.

He flung a rather heavy pack at Reiner. "Suit up, shitty brat. You'll be picking up the slack today, since you did such an awful job yesterday." Levi spoke with some venom in his voice, but at the moment, he didn't really care. Reiner's idiocy had nearly gotten Eren killed yesterday, and so he felt obligated to make the soldier's current day a living hell to make up for it.

Reiner sighed, nodding. While he knew he deserved it, he still wasn't looking forward to the long, painful day ahead of them.

"When do you think Levi will come back?" Eren asked quietly, picking at a stray thread on his pants as he sat in the tent.

Mikasa looked up, brushing the hair from her face. "By tonight. He'll be back by tonight."

Eren nodded, remaining silent for a brief moment before he blinked, looking up again. "Where's Mom? And when did you get so big?"

Mikasa frowned, looking down. "It doesn't matter right now. Wanna look at something?"

Eren cocked his head to the side, looking interested. Mikasa smiled slightly, pulling a well-worn book out from within the backpack.

Eren was already edging forward, looking interested. "What is it?"

"A book. Armin wants you to read it- he wants to talk to you about it when he gets back." she allowed a small, slightly motherly look to cross her features as Eren hesitantly opened the book.

"It's about this thing called the ocean."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think about Eren and Levi's interactions, as well as the Shingashina trio's interactions throughout this chapter?


	25. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi struggles to help Eren cope with memories of his mother's death and the fall of Shingashina, and a small custody battle between Mikasa and Levi ensues.

The only sound was the rumbling of the wagon wheels as they rumbled over the roughly hewn wheel grooves in the road. Silver moonlight made things appear silver around them as they bumped roughly. Exhausted soldiers huddled in the back of the wagon, bracing themselves against the sides of the wagon in the hopes to lessen the jolting.

Levi looked down at the boy asleep in his lap. Eren's head rested in his lap, lips slightly parted, eyes closed.

Levi smiled slightly, remembering how glad he had been to see the boy after they'd finally finished clearing the other side of the walls. How he'd ruffled the chestnut hair, giving that small face an exhausted smile before ordering everyone to break camp, as they were leaving TONIGHT- he wanted to reach the castle as soon as possible.

The least tired troops were driving the wagons- it was a mindless task, really, as the horses simply followed the ruts of wagon wheels in the road.

The journey was silent- everyone was exhausted, blinking owlishly and struggling to stay upright, and the only sound was the wagon wheels bucking along the road.

The silence was disrupted by a whimper- Levi frowned, looking down at Eren, concerned, from where he'd been absently carding his hands through the boy's hair. Eren's face was scrunched, eyes screwed shut….

Eren made no sounds for a brief moment, before his fist clenched the green fabric of Levi's cloak and he was screaming….

_"Mikasa! Mikasa, help me, we have to get her…. Hannes… Hannes you BASTARD, we can't just leave her! D-don't leave her…. MOM!"_

Everyone's head's snapped up, staring in their direction.

Levi stared, horrified, before he was shaking the boy. "Eren- Eren, wake up…."

 _"MOM! Put me down you bastard!"_ Eren struck out, fist hiting Levi with surprising force before he was thrashing, fighting like he was possessed….

All at once, Eren was still. His breath came in rough, harsh pants, as though he were running a marathon, before an animalistic cry of grief split the night air.

Squad members exchanged horrified glances, before the wagon his a particularly rough hole in the road- Eren's head snapped back, making harsh contact with the wooden bed of the wagon, and green eyes flew open.

"M-mom?" a tearful voice asked, as he looked around the bed of the wagon frantically, confused.

Mikasa dove forward before Eren could say anything, pulling Eren into her arms and holding him close as silent tears leaked down her cheeks.

Eren gasped, panting roughly, eyes wide, before he was struggling, pushing himself away. "Y-you're not Mom!"

He grunted as the wagon jolted again and he hit the wagon bed rather roughly, before he was crawling, confused….

"L-levi?" Eren's voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at the man he'd come to know as his caretaker for these past few days. His peridot eyes swam with tears, begging for an answer….

"I'm sorry." Was all Levi said, staring at the floor.

Eren burst into tears, before he was flinging himself into Levi's lap, clinging to the heartbroken Captain. He buried his face in the man's chest, small body shaking with sobs, as he maintained a white-knuckle grip on Levi's cloak. Levi simply held the boy, one hand cupping the back of his head, the other on the boy's back, holding the shaking body close to him.

He didn't really care as the squad watched them, horrified at the pain in Eren's voice and the whole ordeal, really.

Eren finally cried himself into exhaustion, slumping forward, limp, in Levi's arms, his green cloak still wrinkled into the small fists.

Levi looked down at the boy, exhausted, silver eyes looking down sadly at the sleeping boy, sticky tears still clinging to his cheeks, shining in the moonlight.

 _I'm sorry I couldn't protect you before, Eren. But I will never leave you._ Was all he though hazily, before he, too, gave into the exhaustion and let sleep pull him under.

* * *

He was woken by a rather rude jolt of the wagon, and saw the sky was igniting in pink. It was nearly morning.

"Sir… is Eren okay?" Christa asked tentatively, blue eyes wide and concerned.

Levi blinked once, looking down at the boy still slumped in his arms. He looked down- Eren was still pale and sleeping, but his face was blank, showing no indication of pain or sadness.

He nodded wordlessly, and Christa seemed somewhat relieved.

"How dare you?"

Levi looked up, surprised, to see Mikasa practically growling at him.

"How dare you say he's fine when he's just been traumatized!?"

"Mikasa…." Armin lunged forward, trying rapidly to calm her, but the venomous words spewed from Mikasa's mouth like acid.

"You have _no idea_ what Eren has gone through- what he's seen- so _how dare_ you claim to be his _guardian!?"_

Levi looked over at Mikasa, mouth in a firm line. "Done spewing bullshit yet, Akerman?" he asked calmly, cocking an eyebrow.

"You don't have the right-"

"Ah, but I do. Eren chose me, Akerman- he's the one clinging to me, or did you forget? I've been taking care of him these past few days, and if you're trying to insinuate I've done _anything_ that wasn't in his best interests, then you're wrong."

"You don't know a _damn thing about him!_ Armin and I know everything about him…."

"That's fucking wonderful, Akerman, but Eren is the one who refused to let go of me when he was first five. You had him wrapped in your arms and he came over to me. If he wants to you, he can go to you- but until then, _I will care for him."_

"He's my brother!" Mikasa protested, still looking enraged. "He should be with his family!"

"Mikasa- stop. If you keep yelling, you'll wake him up." Armin spoke up, placing a hand on her forearm. "Besides- Eren's been well taken care of with the Captain. He's loved being in his company…."

"But he doesn't _belong_ there…." Mikasa protested, looking over at Eren longingly. " _We're_ his family-"

"When we lived on the streets, yeah, we were- when we were thirteen, we had each other's backs. But Eren's still too young to remember that, and he's happy with Captain Levi- so let's leave him be, yeah?"

"He's only going to be this young once, Armin-"

"So let him be happy. He's better off with Levi than with us. Let him be ten _this_ time without us reminding him of all the time we spent on the streets- just let him be a kid, Mikasa."

Mikasa paused, taking the blond's words into consideration, before she glowered at Captain Levi. "If he so much says one _word_ about not liking you, I will take him from you so fast you won't even see it…."

"Of course." _Unless I hack you to pieces first._

* * *

Their arrival back to the castle at mid-morning was muted, with exhausted soldiers stumbling down from the wagon and heading to tend to their duties and unhitch the horses.

Levi quietly shook the boy resting in his lap, and green eyes fluttered open. Eren's green eyes were subdued and glassy, and Levi nodded to him.

"We're home."

Eren nodded, scrubbing a hand across his eyes quietly and jumping down from the wagon, stumbling.

Levi placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him, and was surprised when Eren actually took his hand. Eren hadn't held his hand since he'd turned seven- but Levi didn't question it, instead allowing the boy to hold onto him.

He quietly led Eren upstairs to his room, running a bath for the boy. There was no splashing, no familiar laughter that'd filled the room days prior- only a dull, worrying silence.

Eren emerged a few moments later, sloppily dressed with wet hair and dull eyes.

Levi ruffled the boy's hair tentatively, and Eren gave him a smile that doubled for a grimace, before Levi ducked into the bathroom to freshen himself up. Two days in the field really did a number on one's hygiene.

When Levi emerged, dressed, he found Eren simply laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly.

Levi perched on the edge of the bed, brushing the wet chestnut bangs from his face.

"Do you want anything to eat, Eren?" the boy hadn't eaten since last night, and it was almost noon.

Eren shook his head, disinterested, and Levi frowned. Eren had been a big eater these last few days. He couldn't exactly expect the boy to get over the death of his mother so quickly, but at the same time, he couldn't let the boy starve himself, either.

"Do you want to do something- go for a ride, maybe?"

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose. "No." he muttered quietly.

Levi sighed, moving to stand and at least grab some bread, in case Eren found it in him to eat something.

He was stopped by a small hand tugging on his sleeve, however, and he turned to see Eren looking at him uncertainly.

"J-just stay with me, please?" he choked out, green eyes swimming with tears.

Levi was surprised for a brief moment, but he nodded, quietly laying down atop the bedding with the boy, resting both hands behind his head.

He cast a glance over at the boy sitting beside him, before deciding to forego doing any paper work today. Instead, he spent a rather quiet day, simply keeping a confused, lonely boy company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I know I don't reply often, and for that I apoligize, but know I read and cherish every bit of feedback you give. :)


	26. 11- Knives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait! I'm on break from college and can finally update again!
> 
> Now you guys understand that my take on the trio's past is a bit dark- from age 10-12, the trio survived the famine on the streets of Trost, scavenging, lying, cheating, stealing, begging- whatever they had to do. While doing this, they had to run from the corpse merchants- a classless group of people who, desperate or just plain demented, would take the corpses of those who starved or refugees and butcher them, marketing the meat to the starving masses.
> 
> That bit of info helps make this chapter- and Eren's sudden behavior changes- make that much more sense. Please review! :)

"Eren- read over this and summarize it for me, would you?" Levi slid a rather unimportant document across his desk to the 11-year-old. He'd taken the day off to be with Eren yesterday, as he'd been grieving, and as a result he was buried in paperwork today.

Eren looked down at the paper shiftily, before he nodded slowly, warily picking it up and bringing it closer to his face so he could read it.

Levi frowned slightly- Eren had been much quieter since he'd turned ten. His mannerisms had changed, as well, and it was off-putting. Levi didn't want to worry over nothing, but he did wonder what'd happened to make the boy so much more reserved.

Eren frowned, squinting for a moment, before he finished reading the paper. He set it down on the desk and spoke.

"Someone wants to have supply ledgers reviewed. It's boring."

Levi sighed, frustrated, before he ran a hand through his hair. He'd forgotten about that- he'd have to go into the books and retrieve the data he needed to fill out the ledgers. It was monotonous, soul-crushing work. He would've found it relaxing some time ago, but now he had much better things to do- mainly involving raising Eren- and paperwork was hell.

"Can I go in the yard?" Eren spoke up, resting his chin on his fist and looking out the window.

Levi frowned for a moment, before he nodded.

"Stay in the courtyard where I can see you from the window. Understood?"

Eren nodded, before he'd disappeared outside.

Levi peered out the window every now and again- he'd expected Eren to run around and play or something, but instead the boy just sat in the grass, watching the goings on around him.

While it was nice to see the boy so tranquil, Levi couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding- deep down, he knew that peace wouldn't last.

* * *

"Dammit!" Eren cursed loudly as he stumbled, snagging his foot on the way into the dining hall for dinner that night. He was growing so rapidly, it was hard for his body to adjust to walking with larger limbs so quickly….

Erwin frowned, looking slightly upset. "Where'd you learn to talk like that, Eren?"

Eren said nothing, simply turning a calculated gaze on the man. He hadn't interacted with Erwin much, but there was something unsettling about the way Eren looked at the blonde man, as though he was sizing him up.

Eren finally decided to ignore the man's query entirely, instead sitting down beside Levi and starting to eat.

"Eren." Erwin leaned forward, placing his elbow on the table. "I asked you a question."

Eren looked up from his food, scrutinizing Erwin carefully from underneath his shaggy chestnut bangs.

"I don't want any trouble." Was all he growled, before he kept eating.

Erwin raised his eyebrows, looking surprised. "I don't want any trouble either, Eren. I just want an answer."

Eren tensed slightly, his grip on his spoon tightening slightly. His posture grew ridged.

Levi looked down at the boy beside him, eyes widening slightly. He didn't understand- why was Eren acting so defensive? When had the bubbly little boy gotten such a cold, calculating stare?

Erwin reached across the table, clapping a hand down on Eren's shoulder. He'd meant to make the boy look at him and speak seriously to him, but as soon as his hand made contact with Eren's shoulder, Eren jumped back. There was a flash of metal before there was a knife in Eren's hand, having been withdrawn from where it'd been hidden in the boy's sleeve.

The room became dead silent for a moment, and Eren glared at Erwin, eyes wide, breath shaky. "I said I don't want any trouble." His voice barely wavered, and he looked ready to attack on a moment's notice.

Erwin blinked, looking completely shocked for a moment.

Before anyone could say anything, Armin spoke up.

"It's alright, Eren- he's one of the good guys."

Eren looked over at his blond friend, hesitant. "How the hell do you know?"

"I've worked with him- Mikasa has too. He's never hurt anybody, and he won't hurt you."

"Promise?" Eren shot a hesitant glance back at Erwin, but Armin bobbed his head, nodding.

"I promise."

Eren nodded, shooting Erwin one last glance before he quietly tucked the knife back into his sleeve, sitting back down at resuming his meal as though nothing had happened.

The room was dead silent for a moment, save for the scraping of Eren's spoon as it made contact with the bowl, before Erwin spoke, looking shocked.

"Where did you get that knife?"

"It's mine." Eren answered between mouthfuls of food, not even bothering to look up.

"It's from the kitchen, isn't it?" Petra asked, looking horrified. "I thought one of the knives had gone missing…."

"It's _mine."_ Eren growled. "I took it- that makes it mine."

"Eren, give me the knife." Erwin's hand was outstretched, his voice leaving no room for negotiation.

Eren looked up, surprised by the man's brazenness, before he snickered. "I don't answer to you."

Erwin blanched for a moment, looking surprised. "I'm an adult…."

"So? You're not my Dad. It's my knife, and I'm not giving it to anyone…."

The room had settled into horrified silence, and Armin spoke up.

"Commander, Sir- please don't discipline him. He's eleven… things were… different… for us, growing up…." Armin struggled to explain himself without going into too much detail about their time in the streets. It was enough for Levi to realize what he was getting at, though, and he et down his spoon, standing.

"Eren- let's go for a walk."

"I'm not giving anyone my knife." Eren said certainly, glaring at Erwin.

"I didn't say you had to- are you coming or no?" Levi raised his eyebrows, trying to act disinterested.

Eren sighed, grabbing his bowl of half-finished food and taking it with him as he followed Levi out into the hallway, leaving a stunned group of soldiers behind them.

Eren ate as he walked beside Levi down the stone halls, hardly looking up from the food. The boy was practically inhaling it.

"Eren… what happened to you after your mother died?"

Eren stopped walking, and Levi did as well. Eren had paled slightly, and he swallowed, letting the spoon fall from his hands back into the bowl.

"We went to Trost. There was hardly any food, so Armin Mikasa and I would find places to sleep…."

"Did you carry a knife then, too?"

"Always." Eren said simply, not looking bothered by the fact.

"Did you fight other kids, Eren?"

Eren nodded, still looking unbothered. "Yeah. There was only a little food- you either fought for it or you starved."

That explained a lot. It explained Eren's sudden reserved attitude, his calculating gaze- the boy had been sizing everyone up, living by his street-knowledge, anticipating everyone as the enemy. He realized with some alarm that within the last night, Eren had realized a lot of harsh realities of living on the street and had started to apply them to his daily life, no matter how out of place it seemed.

It also explained why he'd brought his food with him from the dining hall- food must've become a major priority for him when he'd been living on the streets.

"Would you fight me, Eren?" Levi asked quietly.

Eren's eyes widened, before he shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"You'd never hurt me. You take care of me…."

Levi was both touched and surprised at the boy's affirmations. He felt honored that the boy trusted him that much, given his background….

"And I like you. You're cool."

Levi hadn't expected that last part, or the warm feeling of pride that blossomed in his chest after hearing it.

"Alright… then why'd you pull a knife on Erwin?"

"He called me out. He kept asking me questions, and he touched me- nobody touches me. Because first they touch you, but then they grab and hit you…."

Levi frowned. He knew the boy had acquired this knowledge from the school of hard knocks, and while he didn't want to discredit the boy's common sense, the boy couldn't pull knives on adults.

"So what you're saying is, you don't let people touch you."

"Yeah."

Levi said nothing, simply plopping the palm of his hand atop Eren's head and ruffling the boy's chestnut hair with reckless abandon. He grinned when he was done, glad to have made his point- Eren let people touch him, _sometimes._

Eren huffed, blowing his bangs out of his face, frustrated. He crossed his arms and stamped his foot. "That's no fair- I already told you that you're the exception!"

Levi grinned. "Really, now? So I get to touch you whenever I want?" He reached over, beginning to ruffle Eren's hair even harder and giving the boy an antagonizing grin.

"Quit it!" Eren protested, slapping at Levi's hands and looking up at Levi angrily.

Levi chuckled slightly, stopping his harassment of the boy. Eren looked angry, but it was honestly quite cute.

"I'll fight you." Eren cautioned him seriously.

It didn't seem like much of a threat when it was being said by and eleven-year-old, and Levi elected to ignore the boy's comment, starting back towards the dining hall.

"While I admire your street smarts, I'm afraid you can't go around pulling knives on people." He spoke.

Eren frowned. "Then don't let them touch me and I won't have to!"

Levi frowned. "You really don't like being touched, do you?"

"If they're close enough to touch me, then they're close enough to hit me." Eren supplied, looking serious. "It's better to stay a bit farther away- less chance you get in a fight."

Yet another piece of knowledge that no eleven-year-old should have to know.

Still, Levi nodded, taking it into stride. Eren was hardly a typical eleven-year-old. "So, nobody touches you, you won't pull your knife out?"

Eren nodded solemnly. "But I won't give it back. It's my knife, now- I might need it."

Levi had been speaking to the boy for a good fifteen minutes, now, and he didn't want to push Eren any farther out of his comfort zone or make him anxious.

"Okay then. I'll make sure no one touches you- and you can carry your knife, but you can't pull it out or use it against someone, understand?"

Eren nodded seriously, agreeing with the compromise.

Levi smiled slightly, glad to have been able to gain some insight into what even on in Eren's head.

They made their way back to the dining hall, entering again.

"Did you get his knife?" Erwin asked seriously, looking at Levi with concern.

"We've reached an agreement." Levi said simply. "Eren won't take his knife out or use it- but nobody is to touch him without his express permission first."

Erwin looked hesitant, and Eren quietly scooted over so his hip was touching Levi's and he was side to side with his guardian. Quietly showing everyone that Levi was privileged- Levi didn't have to worry about Eren pulling his knife on him _at all,_ because Levi kept him safe.

* * *

"It's mine." Eren protested, looking over at Levi anxiously. He was clutching his knife by the handle like it was a matter of life and death- and on the streets, it probably had been.

Levi sighed tiredly, nodding. "I know it's important to you, Eren, but you can't sleep with it- it's dangerous. What if you roll onto it or cut yourself while you sleep?"

"I'll be fine!" Eren protested.

Levi sighed. "Eren. I understand that having a knife makes you feel safe, but I won't let you risk injury to yourself."

"I need it!" Eren looked positively desperate, eyes anxious.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose- he was struggling to balance Eren's safety with the boy's fear of being defenseless, though he could clearly understand why Eren was upset at having his knife taken from him. He was exactly the same way when he'd been on the streets.

"Alright. What if we get you a sheath for it? I can't let you have the blade open while you sleep, it's dangerous. Unless…." Levi reached into his pocket, pulling a small folding knife from within. It was handy to have for small tasks in general- with a simple wooden handle and a three inch blade, the folding knife neatly tucked the sharp edge into the handle, only opening and locking when the user held a small switch.

"How about this? We'll trade, alright? You give me your kitchen knife, and you get this one- it's still a knife, but it's safer- you won't accidentally hurt yourself. And if you suddenly need it in the middle of the night, all you need to do is open it up. See?" Levi demonstrated opening the blade before he closed the knife, extending his hand.

"Well? Want to trade?"

Eren nodded, abandoning his kitchen knife on the sheets and fairly snatching the folding blade from Levi's palm, looking at it happily. It fit into his hand perfectly and was easier to conceal than his kitchen knife- not to mention it was Levi's. That made it better.

Levi quietly took the kitchen knife from the sheets, glad to have the matter settled. "Alright then." He pulled the blankets up over Eren, tucking them around his chin. He ruffled Eren's hair affectionately, before he was blowing out the candle.

"Sleep well, Eren."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! :)


	27. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not all flowers and rainbows when caring for Eren Jager.

At twelve, Eren was an inch or so taller,. His chest was slightly broader, hands bigger, bangs shaggier. Mostly, though his eyes were hardened with a look of battle-hardened determination that was so similar to the Eren he knew, it was unnerving.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, looking surprised at how long his legs were. His feet almost touched the floor before he blinked, looking p.

"Levi?" his voice was a bit gravelly, and it stopped Levi for a brief moment.

"Where are we?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Levi asked carefully, making sure to tread carefully. He'd gotten used to Eren needing to be reminded of things after remembering things at night, but he still didn't want to say anything to alarm the boy.

"I... uhh..." Eren scrubbed his sleeve across bleary eyes. "I'd just passed my 3DMG assessment..."

"At basic?" Levi blinked slightly, surprised. "How old are you?"

"Twelve."

Had the boy really started military training at twelve? Levi hadn't been expecting the boy to begin recalling training until he was at least fourteen, but admittedly, he'd never gone through basic to become a soldier.

"You know how to use 3DMG?"

"Well... yeah. I mean, I passed the assessment, so..." Eren rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging. He perked up suddenly, as though he was remembering something. "Hey- this is the military, right? So... we get double rations?"

Levi nodded slowly. Eren grinned, looking relieved.

Eren stood, stretching slightly and smiling at Levi. "You getting up or what?" he asked, giving his Captain a good-natured smile. Eren still remembered Levi as his caretaker, overall. Levi was pretty certain Eren wouldn't remember him until he was fifteen.

Levi nodded, getting out of bed and pulling on a fresh shirt, lacing up his boots. Eren fidgeted by the door impatiently, but waited for Levi before he was striding down the stone hallways towards the staircase.

Levi noticed, with some trepidation, that he didn't have to walk slowly- Eren could keep up with his strides, now. Levi felt his throat tighten at the memory of the little six year old, talking his ear off and moving around behind him, laughing and flashing that smile he'd had.

As soon as they reached the dining hall, Eren paused, surveying the faces of the soldiers there critically, before he grinned.

"Hey Mikasa. How's it going, Armin?"

Just like that, he was walking over to the table where the 104th was sitting, taking his customary seat between the two and grabbing a bowl of grub.

Levi was absolutely at a loss for a moment, before he strode over to his usual table, minus Eren, and took his seat. He felt naked- he was suddenly awkwardly idle during the breakfast, with no little face to wipe food off of, and no grubby hands to wipe clean.

Eren laughed from where he sat with his friends- he was still significantly smaller than them, by at least a foot, but what bugged Levi was that the boy he;d spent the past week raising had abandoned him- for his _friends,_ no less.

He was used to having the boy by his side, and without him, he felt irritated and... hollow, almost. It was disconcerting and _annoying_ that his mood could be effected so much by one brat. He seized his tea cup in a rather aggressive manor, taking a long pull of the black liquid and glaring over the rim of the cup at the 104th.

While his table mates certainly noticed his uncharacteristic demeanor, they wisely chose not to comment on it. Eren's growing up had had an effect of everyone- but nobody as much as Levi. Still, they all chose to ignore it, knowing that as Eren changed, so would his relationship with Levi.

Still- they all valued their lives, so they made no remarks.

Levi simply aggressively drank his tea, watching Eren like a hawk the entire time.

Still, when the clock struck eight and breakfast hour was over, Levi distinctly frowned when Eren got up to follow his comrades.

He rose for a moment, about to go after the boy, before he hesitated for a split second. He let the boy go.

* * *

His office was too damn quiet. Levi grit his teeth and scrawled his name angrily on the piece of paper work, upset. Suddenly the room felt so empty- he was missing something he'd never even thought he'd wanted.

He let out a harsh breath, running a hand through his hair in frustration. sighing. Yes, it was nerve racking, but he decided to let Eren outside. He was only doing chores with his fellow soldiers, after all, it wasn't as though he was in any danger or anything.

He looked out the window to see a small form heading to the stables, a mass of bridles in hand, heading towards the stables.

It wasn't exactly like he was in any danger. He drew the line when he saw the boy fairly running after his comrades at training hour, fairly dragging 3DMG behind him.

"Eren!" Levi sighed, running down the steps. He grabbed the boy by the collar, pulling him inside the castle.

"Hey!" Eren looked upset, flailing slightly.

"What on earth do you think you're doing!?" Levi demanded.

"I'm going to train with the others!"

"In 3DMG!? Absolutely not! You haven't been trained!".

"What are you taking about? I've been trained-"

"You know how to sit in a training harness! That's hardly the same thing!" he'd released his hold on Eren's collar, but he looked incredibly frazzled.

Levi realized he was quickly letting his emotions and overbearing emotions regarding Eren's care get the best of him. He was making a scene.

"Head upstairs to our room." he muttered quietly.

"No."

Levi whirled. "Excuse me?"

"I said no!" Eren glowered, fists clenched at his sides, arms rigid, glaring up at Levi, chin jutting out.

"Eren!"

"I don't have to listen to you!"

Levi was left speechless for a split second. In all this time, Eren had never blatantly disobeyed him before, and it left Levi at a loss.

"Eren- upstairs, to the room- _now."_ Levi growled, snapping his arm up to point. Eren growled, looking as though he were about to defy Levi yet again, before he relented, turning and stomping upstairs. The slamming of a door, a loud bang echoing, a reflection of the chaos and disagreement boiling within.

Levi sighed, pinching the bridge fo his nose, and he let out a harsh sigh, struggling to tame the whirlwind of emotions fighting for dominance within him.

Who knew caring for a pre-teen would be so hard?

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment! I'd love to hear your views on it! :)


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